The authorities in Miami released a previously unheard audio recording on Monday of the police interrogation of Ana María Pérez, the ex-partner of Damián Valdés Galloso, the man accused of murdering the Cuban musician José Manuel Carvajal Zaldívar, known as El Taiger.
According to local press, the interrogation lasts nearly an hour and was conducted by a detective from the Miami Police in the early hours of October 5, 2024, two days after the crime, without any public disclosure until now.
"I didn't see it": Key statements
In the audio, Pérez's voice is heard for the first time responding to questions about his presence at the Hialeah residence where the crime occurred in the early hours of October 3, 2024.
The woman denied any prior knowledge: "I can't assure you that he did or did not, because I didn't see him."
He also insisted that he was unaware of what had happened that night: “I had no idea. They are friends and he was very much himself.”
He expressed disbelief at the accusation: "It never crossed my mind that it could have been him. I still don’t believe that. It’s hard for me, it’s hard for me."
The detective presses her: Blood and the portal
During the interrogation, the detective confronted Pérez directly: "Did you not notice at any point that there was blood all over the entrance? And the body?"
The answer was blunt: “No, there was no blood or anything.”
Pérez reiterated his statement: “When I arrived at the house, there was nothing there. Nothing at all. I didn’t see Damián.”
Why did he go to the house that early morning?
Pérez explained that around five in the morning he went to the house because he received a call from Solayne de la Caridad García Valdés, the ex-partner of the accused's son and the second woman seen in the surveillance footage, who asked him to come pick her up after allegedly arguing with Valdés Galloso.
Ana María Pérez is one of the two women captured by surveillance cameras minutes after El Taiger was shot in the head at 4:31 in the morning.
"What did you do?": Damian's call
Pérez stated that he learned about what happened through the news and then received a call from Valdés Galloso himself.
Her reaction was one of immediate reproach: "And that's where I say to him: What did you do? Damián, you're everywhere. And he hung up on me."
In November 2024, Pérez had already publicly denied in an audio clip shared on social media that she was the woman in the crime video: “They are accusing me of having helped him, of being the person in the video, I am clarifying that it is not me.”
On that same occasion, she also said: "I also want justice to be served. If they find him guilty, he has to pay for it."
The status of the case
El Taiger, aged 37, passed away on October 10, 2024 at Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami, seven days after being shot.
Valdés Galloso is facing charges of first-degree murder, tampering with physical evidence, and illegal possession of a firearm, and remains in the Miami-Dade County jail without bond.
The prosecutor's office will not seek the death penalty but will pursue a mandatory life sentence in the event of a conviction.
The trial, postponed multiple times, is tentatively scheduled for July 7, 2026, with a mandatory appearance set for July 28, 2026.
Filed under: