CORAL SPRINGS, FLA. (WSVN) - As authorities continue to unearth more details about a violent crime spree that left an infant and two other people dead in Broward County, a Coral Springs resident is speaking out about the possible suspect in the case.
Investigators believe the trail of mayhem began Friday at an apartment complex located on the 4100 block of Northwest 88th Avenue. It was here, they said, where the man responsible killed a woman and left her baby boy seriously injured.
Paramedics transported the infant to Broward Health Medical Center. Police on Saturday confirmed the baby succumbed to his injuries.
During a mass on Sunday at St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, Rev. Pedro Freitez identified the woman as Elizabeth Carmona and her nephew Mateo Morales.
Carmona was watching Mateo when the murder took place.
Freitez said they were battered with a hammer.
Court records show 35-year-old Dale Spidle was booked into the Broward County Jail and faces a list of charges, including murder, aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and fleeing the scenes of multiple accidents.
Saturday afternoon, neighbor Diane Hirschfield said Spidle lives in the same complex.
“I feel very bad for him ’cause his life is over, but I feel very bad for the couple that would lose a child, a baby,” she said.
Hirschfield said Spidle had problems with his neighbors.
“They would move furniture, and he would bang on the wall, and she’d complain that he was waking the baby up,” she said.
According to Freitez, Spidle went into the neighboring apartment and murdered both Carmona and Mateo.
“A neighbor came in without asking, kills and murders a woman and a child with a hammer,” said Freitez during a Spanish language Mass. He went on to call hate a sickness of the spirit.
“People snap, and drugs are a terrible thing,” said Hirschfield. “You know, some drugs you take, you know really make you psychotic or something, and he had this grudge. I don’t know how this happened.”
Police said the rampage that followed on Friday afternoon resulted in three separate crashes.
At around 2 p.m., first responders arrived at the scene of a hit-and-run along the 8100 block of Wiles Road in Coral Springs.
Surveillance video from a nearby gas station captured the silver Kia that, detectives said, the suspect was driving when he caused a chain-reaction crash and took off.
“The officer did initially make contact with that driver, who then ended up fleeing from that scene,” said Coral Springs Police Deputy Chief Brad McKeone.
Shortly after, police said, the driver of the Kia was involved in a four-car crash at Powerline and Sample roads in Coconut Creek.
It was at this scene where, detectives said, the driver of the Kia fatally shot someone, hopped into a white pickup truck, possibly the victim’s, and fled again.
Police said the third crash took place near a Walgreens on the 4300 block of Sample Road in Coconut Creek.
After crashing the truck, police said, the driver got out of the truck without any clothes on and took off on foot.
A woman recorded cellphone video of the nude suspect walking away.
“He’s completely naked, and then I saw he’s out of his mind,” said witness Lorena Sagna.
Shortly after, police said, he was taken into custody at a Shell gas station along the 4700 block of Sample Road.
Spidle appeared before a judge on Saturday and was officially charged.
Investigators said the Kia led them to the suspect’s apartment, located next door to the unit where the woman and infant were found.
Saturday evening, 7News cameras captured crime scene investigators removing evidence from the victims’ unit, as they continue their investigation.
Spidle was said to have lived in the complex for about 15 years.
The family of Carmona and Mateo are in the process of the final arrangements for their burial and ask on social media for lots of prayers.
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