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Four people from the same family, including two girls aged eight and eleven, were found dead on Tuesday night in a home in the Doral Isles neighborhood of Miami-Dade County.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office (MDSO) is investigating the case as an apparent murder-suicide, although authorities have not publicly identified which family member may have carried out the attacks.
The facts according to the authorities
At 7:32 PM on Tuesday, June 2, Doral Police agents responded to a wellness check call in the area of NW 111 Court and NW 72 Terrace, according to the official statement from the MDSO.
Upon entering the residence, the officers found four unconscious individuals: an adult woman, an adult man, and two girls.
The Miami-Dade Fire Department pronounced four people dead at the scene; preliminary findings indicate that all had suffered stab wounds.
The victims were identified as Melanie Lauren Hyer, 46 years old; Ryan Charles Whiten, 42; and the girls Savannah Whiten, 11, and Sienna Whiten, eight.
Who were the victims?
Hyer was a prominent real estate agent in South Florida, specializing in real estate, estates, and foreclosures, and she was frequently consulted by regional media.
Whiten and Hyer had been married and separated several years ago, though they shared custody of their daughters.
Court records show that Hyer was married to another man until March of this year, and that Whiten's last known address was an apartment also located in Doral Isles.
The girls Savannah and Sienna were students at Downtown Doral Charter Elementary School and were part of the Doral field hockey team.
The pain of a community
The mayor Christi Fraga, who knew Hyer and his daughters personally, issued a statement in which she expressed:
"As a mother, and as someone who personally knew and admired the loving and dedicated mother at the center of this tragedy, this loss feels particularly close."
Fraga added that "this tragedy is also a painful reminder that we must continue to have honest conversations about mental health, domestic violence, emotional well-being, and the importance of speaking up when something is not right."
"The world stopped for two seconds and I couldn't believe it. Someone so young, so full of life. It's a terrible loss and a horrifying tragedy," said Sylvana Rosende, a friend of Hyer, in a statement to Telemundo 51.
Willard Shepard, former reporter for NBC6 and a close friend of Hyer for about 20 years, noted that he had spoken with her a month and a half ago and did not sense any signs or indications that something like this could happen.
The school mourns the girls
The academic director of Downtown Doral Charter Schools, Jeannette Acevedo-Isenberg, sent an email to parents on Wednesday morning announcing the death of two students and providing grief counselors available on campus.
“Both students were deeply cherished by their school, their teachers, and their classmates,” wrote Acevedo-Isenberg, as reported by CBS Miami.
The field hockey team from Doral also paid tribute to them: "They were an important part of our community and will be remembered for their kindness, friendship, and the positive impact they had on everyone around them."
The investigation continues
Detectives from the Homicide Bureau of the MDSO are actively working on the case in coordination with the County Medical Examiner's Office.
The authorities have not yet revealed who might have carried out the attacks or the reasons behind the tragedy.
Mayor Fraga shared support resources: the Miami-Dade Domestic Violence Hotline (305-285-5900), the National Domestic Violence Hotline (800-799-7233), and the Crisis Line 988.
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