The husband of Meliza Campos Sánchez, the 26-year-old Cuban who was arrested in Miami-Dade after posting videos in which she poured hot wax on her daughters and caused a fire in her home, revealed that he tried to alert the authorities before any of these incidents occurred, but received no effective response.
Yusniel Cue stated to the press that he had called the police three times to warn about his wife's deteriorating mental state, from whom he had been separated for approximately a week at the time of the incident.
"They told me that they couldn't take her unless there was a crime, that they couldn't do anything," Cue stated, who also consulted a psychiatrist and received a similar response: the specialist indicated that he could only admit Campos if she came voluntarily.
"We have never had problems; it's that she is mentally unwell, and that's what nobody ever helped me with," the man added. It was he who triggered the police intervention after receiving the video of the hot wax from friends of the accused and immediately calling the Sheriff's Office.
On Friday, Campos appeared before a Miami-Dade court, smiling and blowing kisses to his family during the hearing.
The judge ordered that she be evaluated by two Spanish-speaking doctors to determine her mental competency.
In addition to Cue, other relatives came to show their support for the young woman. They insist that she was going through a mental health crisis, that she had been prescribed medication but stopped taking it, and they ask that she not be judged solely based on the images shared on social media.
"There are many women testifying that she is a good woman, that she is a very good mother, and that in her right mind, she would not have done this," stated Aliuska Rodríguez, cousin of Campos.
The central incident occurred on Sunday, August 16, at Campos' residence in southwest Miami-Dade. The woman intentionally used a long lighter to set fire to some articles of clothing soaked in flammable liquid, while her daughters—aged three and six—were inside the house. It was the older girl who extinguished the flames with a container of water.
The authorities also found as key evidence two videos that the accused had posted on her Instagram account, where she presented herself as the "Realtor without filters" and had tens of thousands of followers.
In one of the videos, the woman poured melted wax first on her leg and hand, and then on her three-year-old daughter's hands, while telling her, "The fears you are feeling today will be your strength tomorrow." The little girl responded, "That burns."
Campos was arrested on Monday, August 17, first taken to a hospital for mental health evaluation under the Baker Act of Florida - which allows for involuntary hospitalization of up to 72 hours - and then admitted to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.
A judge ordered his detention without bail and assigned him a public defender. He faces charges of first-degree arson, child abuse, and two counts of child neglect.
The two girls remain in the custody of their father. The next hearing is scheduled for September 11, when the results of the medical evaluations are expected to determine whether Campos is mentally competent to stand trial.
In parallel, the case took on a migratory dimension. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a detention order against Campos, labeled as "Miami Menace", and will seek to deport her once she faces the criminal proceedings. According to the authorities, she entered the United States illegally through Florida in May 2022.
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