HIALEAH GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) - A South Florida man has been charged with murder in connection to a car fire that left his wife dead, police said.
Fifty-year-old Noel Ruiz Mestre is facing murder and arson charges in connection to the Feb. 1 incident in a Hialeah Gardens neighborhood, detectives said.
Surveillance video captured an explosion in the area of Northwest 114th Terrace and 88th Court, just before 6 a.m.
Firefighters arrived at the scene of the suspected arson to find a burning vehicle and a person dead inside.
“We’re on scene with PD right now. Rescue 28, we got a 45 in this car,” a first responder said in radio transmissions.
Surveillance video shows the moments before the explosion, as the car pulled up and stopped in the street.
After the car stopped, investigators said, a passenger opened a door trying to get out, but Ruiz Mestre managed to get out of the vehicle, and the explosion happened moments later.
Detectives said that what the surveillance video does not capture is an argument happening inside the car between the victim and her husband.
Police said they also found evidence of a homemade explosive device near the car.
Jose Rodriguez recalled the chaos on that Saturday morning.
“Well, I heard a loud boom,” he said. “The neighbors, about 20 or 30 seconds later, come out, and then I heard the police sirens approaching. One of the neighbors came by and said that there was a woman that had gotten burned.”
Ruiz Mestre was located about a half a mile away and taken to the hospital after he dtabbed himself in the stomach, police said.
A family member told 7News that his wife Yusnavy is the woman who died in the car.
Ruiz Mestre remains in the hospital.
Detectives with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office are now handling this investigation.
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