PEMBROKE PINES, FLA. (WSVN) - New details were released Wednesday after a 33-year-old father was arrested in connection to the death of his 2-year-old daughter inside their Pembroke Pines home.
Jerónimo Duran was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and murder while committing another felony. Additional charges could come once an investigation is complete.
“It’s a very tragic incident, and our hearts go out to the family of the victim,” said Pembroke Pines Police Sgt. Jason Palant.
Pembroke Pines Police and Fire Rescue units responded to a home on the 400 block of Southwest 177th Avenue on Tuesday, where they found the toddler bleeding from her neck.
“Pembroke Pines Fire Rescue personnel, along with police personnel, began lifesaving efforts, immediately rushed the 2-year-old victim to the hospital where, despite all lifesaving efforts, the 2-year-old unfortunately was deceased,” said Palant.
According to court records, Duran picked up his daughter, identified as Melody Alana Rose Duran on Tuesday morning and brought her to the house. After a few hours, there was a gruesome discovery.
Police said Duran’s grandmother, who also live in the home, arrived at the residence and witnessed the murder.
“She arrived at the residence, she saw the suspect on top of the 2-year-old child and noticed that the child did not appear to be breathing, at which time, she called for 911,” Palant said.
“An ambulance is what I need, fast,” the grandmother told a dispatcher.
“I will send the ambulance, but I need to know what’s going on,” another dispatcher told the grandmother.
“Reference a 2-year-old female, advise she’s pale and not reacting,” a dispatcher told first responders in radio transmissions.
When officers arrived at the home, they found Melody with blood and a laceration on her neck. A knife was recovered nearby.
Duran was then arrested at the home.
“Detectives were able to establish probable cause to charge him with first-degree murder,” said Palant. “He was questioned by detectives, he spoke with detectives and through his statement, it helped establish probable cause for his arrest. However, we don’t have a motive at this time.”
Court records also revealed that Duran and Alana’s mother, Mona Rosita Clarke, are separated. They were together for about 10 years.
Clarke became pregnant, and the couple welcomed Melody to the world in 2021. The 2-year-old would have turned 3 in November.
During a press conference at the Pembroke Pines Police Headquarters, officers did not discuss if there was a history of mental illness or if they were calls to the home for domestic violence.
But according to a court filing in 2023, there were several mentions regarding Duran’s mental health.
The filing stated Clarke was afraid of Duran’s “paranoia and anger issues … anxiety and has been Baker Acted a minimum of five times,” and referred to his behavior as “erratic … violent and dangerous to the mother and child.”
The court filing also stated that “the father chased the mother into a bedroom with the child in her arms and punched a fan,” and “the father abused the family dog, punching it in the face.”
Clarke asked the court for a psychological evaluation after saying Duran had been “hearing voices to end his life, some while the child was with him alone.”
Clarke also asked for full custody and a guardian ad litem to help with visits. That paperwork was filed in May of 2023. The court issued a parent plan this March where the father was granted unsupervised visits.
Duran did not appear in court on Wednesday due to a medical reset.
Family members on Wednesday came to Clarke’s Miami Gardens home to comfort her.
Melody’s aunt told 7News that the situation has been a sensitive time for the family and the mother wanted to be left alone.
“[Mona] is not doing too good right now. I’m just, you know, trying to be a big support for her,” she said.
When asked whether the family had been weary of Duran, Melody’s aunt replied, “We’ve always been.”
When asked whether she had seen the suspect behaving oddly or violently toward Clarke, Melody’s aunt replied, “Again, I can’t really comment on all of this. This is up to her.”
Meanwhile, detectives continue their investigation.
“There’s still a lot of things that have to be looked at and uncovered to see if there’s additional charges that should be presented,” said Palant. “At this time, we’re just focusing on being able to provide justice to the family.”
Duran remains at the Broward County Jail.
Copyright 2025 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.