A welfare check and a foul odor led Miami-Dade first responders to break into an apartment Sunday, finding a man, 60, who had turned his gun on himself after killing his 50-year-old wife, 18-year-old son and 13-year-old daughter.
It was not immediately known when they were killed.
Miami-Dade police discovered the bodies around 9 p.m. at the Royalton on the Green Apartments, 17500 Northwest 68th Ave. after receiving a call requesting a welfare check on the family, Det. Alvaro Zabaleta said Monday in a statement.
“Once the officers arrived, they noticed a distinct foul odor emitting from the apartment,” Zabaleta said in a statement.
Miami-Dade Fire Rescue paramedics arrived around the same time and helped the officers break into the apartment, he said.
“As the officers entered the apartment, they discovered four persons deceased from apparent gunshot wounds,” Zabaleta said. “It appears that the father shot and killed his wife, daughter and son, before taking his own life.”
Police had not identified the family as of Monday evening because their next of kin had not been notified, but relatives said the father was Victor Penalba and the mother Yumara Martinez. The family members also identified the children as Jason and Stephanie Penalba, according to Miami Herald’s partner CBS News Miami.
Juan Rodriguez, the teen’s uncle and Martinez’s brother, told the TV station his sister was the victim of domestic abuse.
“My nephew was 18, starting college,” Rodriguez said. “My niece was in sixth grade. My sister came here from Cuba in 1999.”
He said Victor Penalba recently lost his public works job.
“She had rented the apartment,” Rodriguez said. “I guess he was down on his luck and she brought him in.”
Rodriguez told CBS News Miami his niece and nephew were living in fear.
“My nephew told his girlfriend, If you don’t hear from me in five days something bad has happened,” he said. “I wonder what they were living with inside that apartment.”
If you or someone you know is thinking about self-harm, call the toll-free National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. It’s available 24/7.
This story was originally published March 11, 2024 2:11 PM.
