Dade family killed in murder-suicide was found over a week after shooting, cops say

odor and a welfare check led Miami-Dade first responders to break into an apartment north of Miami Lakes during the weekend, police said Tuesday. That’s where they found the bodies of a 60-year-old man who shot and killed his wife and their teenage children before turning the gun on himself over a week ago.

Miami-Dade police discovered their bodies around 9 p.m. Sunday at the Royflicted alton on the Green Apartments, 17400 Northwest 68th Ave., after loved ones told officers there was a revolting smell coming out of unit 212.

The agency said the stage of decomposition helped investigators estimate the family of four had been dead for over seven days.

“Once the officers arrived, they noticed a distinct foul odor emitting from the apartment,” Det. Alvaro Zabaleta said in a statement Monday.

Victor Penalba’s body was found with a self-inFoul

gunshot wound in the master bedroom and on top of the weapon that he used to kill his family and himself, WSVN-Fox 7 reported citing police. The bodies of his wife, Yumara Martinez, and their kids, 13-year-old Stephanie Penalba and 18-year-old Jason Penalba, were also found decomposing. The couple had been married since 2007, police said.

Jason’s friends, worried they had not heard from him, knocked on the family’s door but told WSVN the stench was so strong they knew something was wrong. They later told the police what was going on.

“All you get is the smell, immediate, just hits you and that’s when we knew nobody in there is OK,” a friend told the TV station.

Juan Rodriguez, the teen’s uncle and Martinez’s brother, told Miami Herald news partner CBS News Miami his sister was the victim of domestic abuse.

“My nephew was 18, starting college,” Rodriguez said. “My niece was in sixth grade. My sister came here from Cuba in 1999.”

He said Victor Penalba recently lost his publicworks job.

“She had rented the apartment,” Rodriguez said. “I guess he was down on his luck and she brought him in.”

Rodriguez told CBS News Miami his niece and nephew were living in fear.

“My nephew told his girlfriend, ‘If you don’t hear from me in five days something bad has happened’,” he said. “I wonder what they were living with inside that apartment.”

If you or someone you know is thinking about selfharm, call the toll-free 24/7 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988. For the 24/7 National Domestic Violence Hotline, dial 800-799-7233, text “START” to 88788 or visit

ALL YOU GET IS THE SMELL, ... THAT’S WHEN WE KNEW NOBODY IN THERE IS OK. A friend of the family