Leydis Menéndez Abdala, a Cuban citizen accused of causing a fatal accident under the influence of alcohol in Hialeah in 2006 and who remained at large for nearly two decades, appeared this Sunday before a court in Miami-Dade County after being captured in Mexico and extradited to the United States.
Menendez Abdala appeared in court again on Monday, where the prosecution requested that she remain in custody without the possibility of bail.
An audience marked by the long cry for justice
During the preliminary hearing on Sunday, Assistant District Attorney Laura Adams revealed that at the time of the accident, Menéndez Abdala was in a romantic relationship with a member of the Hialeah Police Department.
According to Adams, it was precisely this officer who informed the suspect about the toxicology results—which showed that she had a blood alcohol level more than twice the legal limit—allowing her to flee before she could be formally arrested.
The prosecutor also confirmed that Menéndez Abdala was located in Mexico, where he had resided for almost 19 years following his escape from Florida on September 10, 2006.
U.S. authorities, in coordination with Mexican officials, managed to apprehend her and transfer her to Miami-Dade last Friday.
On behalf of the accused, a public defender submitted a written plea of not guilty.
The judge decided to move the hearing to this Monday, in order to submit the formal request for preventive detention.
A tragedy that marked a family and a community
On August 12, 2006, Gloria Marcia Hall, the mother of two daughters, was on her way to a religious retreat when her vehicle—a 1992 green Mazda B2200 pickup—was struck at the intersection of West 68th Street and 16th Avenue by a blue Toyota Solara, driven by Menéndez Abdala, who ran a flashing red light shortly after 4:00 a.m.
Hall died at the accident site; Menéndez Abdala was injured and was airlifted to Jackson Memorial Hospital.
There, according to official records, he admitted to having been drinking and signed a statement acknowledging that he was under the influence of alcohol.
But before the judicial process could be completed, he fled the country.
On September 20 of that same year, a judge issued an arrest warrant.
His case became part of the most wanted fugitives file of the county and was even featured in a segment of the America's Most Wanted program in March 2007.
However, nearly 20 years passed without any concrete progress.
The long road to capture
For nearly two decades, the authorities continued the search.
The case was reopened multiple times.
A second arrest warrant was issued in August 2022, and a third in February 2023, after an error in the date of birth was discovered in the court records.
In September 2023, Crime Stoppers of Miami-Dade County increased the reward for information about their whereabouts to $25,000.
Finally, on August 25 of this year, the U.S. Marshals Service was alerted that Menéndez Abdala would be deported from Mexico to Cuba, which allowed for the coordination of her capture before she left the continent.
During her time as a fugitive, the woman repeatedly altered her physical appearance: she dyed her hair, wore colored contact lenses, and used makeup to conceal her features.
All these elements are included in the search flyers distributed by the authorities.
A family shattered by loss
The commander of the Miami Police Department, Joaquín Freire, brother of Gloria Hall, has been one of the most active voices demanding justice.
In his statement before the court, he requested that Menéndez Abdala not be granted bail.
"There are no words to express the pain we have endured over the last 19 years since losing Gloria Marcia Hall, mother, daughter, and sister, due to the criminal and reckless actions of a person who has shown no remorse," Freire stated on Monday in a public statement.
He recalled that on the morning of the accident, he received a visit from two police officers from another jurisdiction who informed him of his sister's death.
They knocked on the door and asked me, "Do you know someone named Gloria Hall?"
I said to them, ‘Yes, she is my sister. Why?’ They replied, ‘She had an accident… She didn’t survive.’
"The hardest thing I’ve had to do is sit my mom, my dad, and then my sisters, my nieces, down and tell them: ‘Your mom died this morning’.”
Since then, the family has not wavered in their pursuit of justice.
"Her death has shattered my family and left a great emptiness in my heart", Freire wrote years ago in a letter published during the search campaign for Menéndez Abdala.
In a 2023 Instagram post, Freire also explained how they found out that the accused had fled.
"She was interviewed and practically signed a statement saying that she was under the influence of alcohol and that she had been drinking. By the time Monday came around, they went to find her, but she was no longer there."
Now, almost two decades later, the capture of the fugitive represents an emotional milestone for the Hall family.
"We are glad that justice is finally being served. Although nothing can erase our pain, knowing that Gloria's case has not been forgotten gives us strength and peace," Freire concluded.
What’s coming
The judicial system is now getting ready to decide the future of Menéndez Abdala.
This Monday, in the new hearing before the bail court, the prosecution presented a formal motion for him to remain in custody without the possibility of bail, given the seriousness of the charges and the clear risk of flight.
The defense is expected to continue arguing for his release on bail, although his nearly 20-year history of evading justice works against him.
Meanwhile, the Hialeah community and the Hall family remain vigilant about the development of the case, which, after years of silence, has once again brought to the forefront the struggle against impunity and the memory of a victim whose life was cut short by reckless driving.
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