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A prominent South Florida real estate agent was found dead alongside her ex-husband and their two young daughters in what police called a murder-suicide.
At approximately 7:32 p.m. Tuesday, Doral Police Department officers responded to the Doral Isles neighborhood for a welfare check in the affluent Miami suburb.
Melanie Hyer, 46, Ryan Whiten, 42, and their daughters Savannah, 11, and Sienna, 8, were each found with stab wounds, the Miami-Dade County Sheriff’s Office said.
The four were all pronounced dead on scene. Police did not specify who stabbed whom.
Melanie Hyer, 46, Ryan Whiten, 42, and their daughters Savannah, 11, and Sienna, 8, were all pronounced dead on scene, police said. (Melanie Hyer/Facebook)
Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office Homicide Bureau detectives responded to the scene and took over the investigation.
Hyer was a prominent realtor in the area and Whiten was a real estate project manager, according to their social media profiles.
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NBC Miami reported that the former couple co-parented their two children and were in subsequent marriages that had since ended.
“As a mother, and as someone who personally knew and admired the loving and dedicated mother at the center of this tragedy, this loss feels especially close to home,” Doral Mayor Christi Fraga said in a statement on Instagram. “My heart aches for their loved ones, classmates, teachers, friends, neighbors, and everyone grieving during this incredibly painful time. Please join me in praying for this family, for all those affected, and for the healing of our community.”
MDSO homicide detectives have classified the case a murder-suicide, although authorities have not publicly identified which person they believe was responsible. (Peter Whiten/Facebook)
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WSVN spoke to Whiten’s ex-wife, who told the outlet that his relationship with Hyer was toxic and that they had been in a dispute over their two daughters.
“I’m in shock,” said the ex-wife, who did not want to be identified, in Spanish during a phone interview with the local outlet. “He was always so sweet with his girls and loved them deeply. I don’t know what happened.”
Deputies said that Doral police officers were called to a Doral Isles home in the area of Northwest 111 Court and Northwest 72nd Terrace just after 7:30 p.m. to perform a welfare check. (Peter Whiten/Facebook)
The outlet also reported a statement from the girls’ school, Downtown Doral Charter Elementary.
“Our community is mourning the loss of two of our beloved students,” a spokesperson wrote. “Our heartfelt sympathies are with their families, friends, faculty and staff at our schools. These students will be deeply missed.”