KENDALE LAKES, Fla. – Police officers responded to a white house with a ruby red door, and inside they found four people dead on Sunday in a quiet area of Miami-Dade County’s Kendale Lakes neighborhood.
According to Detective Angel Rodriguez, a spokesman for the Miami-Dade Police Department, the police officers found a woman dead in one of the bedrooms, a man and a woman dead in another bedroom, and a man dead in another room.
“They responded here for a welfare check on a hospice patient,” Rodriguez said.
The man who died alone had a firearm lying near him and appeared to have suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound. After the gruesome finding, detectives suspected the house, at 4510 SW 137 Court, was the scene of a murder-suicide.
“The preliminary information revealed all four decedents resided in the same residence,” Rodriguez said.
Detectives have not released the identities of the victims.
According to public voter registration records, Mercedes Morato, 84; and Jesus Regueira, 62; had reported the address as their residence.
Police confirmed that the hospice patient was in her 80s and lived at the home with a man who was also in his 80s. They said a couple in their 60s also lived at the residence.
According to county property records, the single-family cluster home has three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Mercedes Morato and a man named Enrique Morato purchased it in 1993. The listed owners changed to Mercedes Morato and Jesus Regueira in 2019.
The medical examiner’s office responded with several vans.
“We always stress to the community the importance of mental health. It’s a part of our overall well-being,” Rodriguez said. “Please, if you are in a position where you are not feeling well or need someone to talk to, there are plenty of services within the county.”
If you are experiencing mental health-related distress or are worried about a loved one who may need crisis support, contact the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline by calling or texting 988.
Local 10 News Assignment Desk Editor Mercedes Cevallos contributed to this report.