A 41-year-old woman was shot by her ex-partner, a Cuban who subsequently took his own life, in a home in Miami-Dade this Thursday, just 22 days after a judge denied a domestic violence protection order, despite the victim having reported threats and warned the court that she feared for her life.
Dalianis Lazo, 41 years old, had warned a Miami-Dade court that she feared for her life. Months later, on Thursday, October 22, her ex-partner Iván Granado rode his bicycle to her home in the Country Walk neighborhood in the southwest part of the county and shot her before taking his own life, according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office.
What makes this case particularly disturbing is what the judicial records reviewed by Local 10 reveal: just 22 days before the attack, a judge had denied her request for a protection order.
The shooting occurred at 11:03 AM on Thursday at the address 15472 SW 148th St. A neighbor, Cecilia Delfino, stated that she heard a scream and three gunshots.
When the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office agents arrived at the scene, they found both individuals with gunshot wounds. Granado, 53 years old, originally from Cuba -according to information from Univision- was pronounced dead at the scene.
Lazo was transferred in critical condition to Jackson South Medical Center, and as of Friday, according to police reports, her condition had improved.
Local 10 reported, citing an agent of the organization, that Lazo is between six and eight weeks pregnant, a detail that the police had not confirmed in the initial press conference.
Judicial records show that Lazo filed a petition for a protective order against Granado in April for domestic violence, referring to him as her "former cohabiting boyfriend."
In the application, he reported "ongoing threats, harassment, coercion, and intimidation" and noted that he owned a firearm, had served in the U.S. military, abused alcohol and cocaine, and had been without stable employment for over two years.
"I fear for my life and for the safety of my parents," Lazo wrote in a sworn statement included in the file.
Despite all of this, Circuit Judge Michaelle Gonzalez-Paulson closed the case on September 30 with the justification of "without just cause" and "insufficient evidence." Three weeks later, Granado attacked Lazo.
In Florida, a domestic violence protection order is a civil procedure that anyone can request without a lawyer or bond, supported by the Florida Statute §741.30.
If the judge determines that there is an immediate danger, they may issue a temporary emergency order. If they deny the request, they can set a hearing within approximately 15 days or close the case.
When this happens, no contact, distancing, or weapon surrender restrictions are activated, leaving the victim with no legal barriers between herself and her aggressor.
The neighbors described Lazo as a calm and kind woman. "Very sweet, really very sweet, a quiet person," said Hector Rodriguez to Local 10, who also characterized her as "a lovely person."
The detective Danny Castillo, spokesperson for the MDSO, described the incident as an isolated domestic occurrence with no threat to the community.
This case is not the first of its kind in the area. Heydi Morales, a Cuban mother living in Miami, survived an attack that nearly cost her life: her ex-partner stabbed her 34 times in various parts of her body in June.
The aggressor is Leisnier Mauri García, 40 years old, who faces charges of attempted murder with a deadly weapon and domestic violence, and remains detained at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center (TGK) without the right to bail.
Florida records over 124,000 incidents of domestic violence each year, and a family member kills another every 36 hours in the state, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.
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