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A Cuban family residing in South Florida and homicide investigators from Miami-Dade continue to appeal to the community for help in identifying the person responsible for a fatal shooting on I-95 that ended the life of Melissa González, a young woman who was only 22 years old at the time, in January 2020.
Melissa's family gathered on Tuesday at the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office to make an emotional plea for justice, with the hope that someone will come forward with answers to help them close the painful chapter of not knowing who killed their loved one.
The mother of the victim, Sheila Nuñez, urged the public to come forward with any information they may have.
"What happened to my daughter could happen to anyone, to any mother, to any father, to any child," Núñez stated in heartfelt comments reported by the local press.
"We deserve to know who did this", said Melanie González, the victim's sister.
"Knowing that something like this happened to him and not knowing who did it, not knowing why it happened, it hurts," added the young woman.
The facts
On Friday, January 3, 2020, around 8:30 p.m., Melissa and her boyfriend were traveling southbound on I-95 in the area of Northwest 79th Street when she was shot in the head and died from what was deemed "a stray bullet," according to reports from the sheriff's office at the time.
Her loved ones said that Melissa was on her way to the hospital to visit her sick grandfather when the fatal bullet crossed the street and struck her in the head.
Five years after the shooting, investigators have more questions than answers, and the only definitive clue is a dark-colored sedan, which appears to be a BMW.
"A vehicle that interests us. We believe it fled the area where the shots were fired," said Chief Detective Juan Segovia on Tuesday.
“She had graduated from Florida International University. She was on her way to becoming a lawyer because she believed in justice and fairness,” said Melanie during the meeting on Tuesday.
“She was incredible; she didn’t deserve this,” he added.
Melissa González's family has been seeking justice for five years and hopes that someone will come forward to help them find peace and justice.
"I hope we can find out who did this and that justice is served so we can at least have a little clarity and a bit of peace because it’s tough, it’s really tough," concluded Melanie.
The detectives have ruled out from the beginning that it was a case of road rage.
Anyone with relevant information about the case can call the Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers Line at 305-471-TIPS. Remember that you can always remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward.
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