NORTHWEST MIAMI-DADE, FLA. (WSVN) - An entire family was found dead at a Northwest Miami-Dade apartment in what police believe to be a murder-suicide.
Police said that the discovery of the bodies unfolded on Sunday at around 9 p.m. in the area of 17400 NW 68 Avenue but that the actual deaths of the victims occurred two weeks ago.
According to MDPD, uniformed officers responded to a welfare check request for the family, discovering a “distinct foul odor” upon arrival at the apartment and multiple flies flying outside the apartment door.
“Once inside, they discovered four people dead,” said Miami Dade Police Department Officer Alvaro Zabaleta.
MDFR assisted in gaining entry, and officers reportedly found four individuals deceased inside from apparent gunshot wounds.
Investigators believe that the 60-year-old father, Victor Penalba, perpetrated the tragedy, fatally shooting his 50-year-old wife, Yumara Martinez, 18-year-old son, Jason Penalba, and 13-year-old daughter, Stephanie Penalba before taking his own life.
Police said they found Victor lying on top of the gun in the master bedroom with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
“Domestic violence usually escalates and if it’s not attended and not taken serious and it’s left alone, it can escalate to, a lot of the times, like in this case, tragedy,” said Zabaleta.
During their investigation, detectives revealed that Victor and Martinez were married in 2007.
According to police, Jason’s friends from Miami Dade College called police for the welfare check after not hearing from Jason for two weeks. The last person to speak with Jason was his girlfriend on Feb. 28.
The friends, speaking to 7News, did not want to reveal their identity but said Jason was a good person.
“He always had like a good, like, soul,” said one friend. “My friends decided to like call each other and be like ‘Man, it’s like, it’s already been two weeks already. We should definitely go and check something out.'”
Before the friends came and knocked on Jason’s door, police said the girlfriend appeared at Jason’s home on March 9 and knocked on the door but received no answer so she left.
“All you get is the smell, immediate, just hits you and that’s when we knew nobody in there is OK,” said a friend.
“We cannot believe that this happened to him. Everyone was disheartened. Everyone is shocked. Nobody can believe this because he was just not a kid that you would ever expect to be in this sort of situation,” said another friend.
The step-brother and sister of Yumara were at the scene on Monday and told 7News they wish they had stepped in sooner to prevent the deaths of their sister and her children.
“It’s destroyed us as a family. We’re a good family. We look out for each other. This just sucks, man. You don’t expect it to be you, you know,” Juan Rodriguez. “Shame on us, you know.”
Rodriguez said his sister and the children had many goals and aspirations for their life.
“She always accepted me, not as a step-brother, but as a brother. She always used to tell me, she goes ‘I don’t care that we’re not blood blood, but you are better than blood,'” said Rodriguez.
Rodriguez said Jason was a student at Miami Dade College. Rodriguez described the warning that Jason gave to his girlfriend in their last known contact.
“He told his girlfriend, ‘If you don’t hear from me in four to five days, something bad happened,'” said Rodriguez. One of the friends reiterated the warning Jason gave.
The stepsister said her sister and the children were wonderful people.
“He would always like push her away from the family,” said Yumara’s stepsister, who did not want to be identified.
The stepsister said she didn’t see the family enough.
“We are a united family but he would never want them around,” said the stepsister.
The victim’s siblings want the public to know that if they have a loved one in a difficult situation or in a difficult relationship, to reach out to the loved one.
“We thought we knew that everything was okay but deep down inside, you think that maybe something is not right. You should pull that person to the side when they are and say ‘Hey, can we have some Starbucks or something?’ Take them out,” said Rodriguez.
Rodriguez said one of Yumara’s coworkers also reached out to the family after not hearing from them for over a week but they didn’t follow up.
The family now hopes no one makes the same mistake.
If you have any information on this crime, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Remember, you can always remain anonymous, and you may be eligible for a reward of up to $5,000.
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