MIAMI GARDENS, FLA. (WSVN) - The manhunt for a father who, authorities said, killed his wife and juvenile daughter in Miami Gardens reached a dead end, at least for now, after police acting on a tip searched an abandoned hospital but came up empty.
Officers responded to the area of Northwest Seventh Avenue and 171st Street on Monday afternoon after a family member of the deceased received a tip that a man fitting the description of the father was inside the building.
According to investigators, Noel Chambers got into an argument with his wife before things escalated on Saturday night.
Miami Gardens Police and Miami-Dade Fire Rescue units responded to reports of an assault near Northwest Seventh Avenue and 177th Street, around 11 p.m.
Officials discovered Chambers’ juvenile daughter and wife, Lorrice Harris, deceased upon arrival at the scene.
“For someone to get a machete and chop somebody up like that, your own wife, your own daughter, and try to kill your other daughter,” said Ashlee Anderson, Harris’ daughter. “A 10-year-old laying in bed, probably sleeping. It was my mom’s birthday.”
“Why would you murder, like, slaughter your child?” said a witness who asked not to be identified or show her face on camera.
https://twitter.com/DymburtNews/status/1112847038285340672
The witness said the suspect attacked his daughter with a machete.
“The way her body was down, she didn’t see it coming,” she said.
Police said Chambers’ adult daughter was transported to an area hospital where she is listed in critical condition.
Chambers fled the scene before officials responded to the call.
“The [adult] daughter was outside. He fled; she was hysterical, on the phone with the police,” said the witness.
Classmates of the young victim returned to school Monday morning for the first time since the tragedy.
“Sorry for the kid. I can’t even put my head around it,” said parent Frantz June. “How do you kill your own people? Your own kid. That’s why you got to hug them and kiss them every day, you know?”
The Miami Gardens Police Department said they have probable cause to arrest Chambers for two counts of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.
Detectives said they received a “good tip” that he was hiding in the abandoned building, but Monday’s search did not yield the suspect. Officials believe he is hiding in the Miami Gardens area with help from others.
Police said they consider Chambers armed and dangerous.
If you have any information on Chambers’ whereabouts, police ask you not call Crime Stoppers by 911.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.