Killer sought in ’08 case

Family hopes $3K reward brings leads

Elijah Aguiar was on the cusp of adulthood, then 17, when detectives came to his door at sunrise to tell the teen his mother was dead.

Angela Aguiar, 38, was gunned down and killed at about 3:30 am. on June 30, 2008, in downtown Fort Lauderdale. Although her killer remains on the loose, court documents in a civil case point to her boyfriend at the time — also her primary life insurance beneficiary — as a suspect.

This summer, Broward Crime Stoppers began offering a $3,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Angela Aguiar’s killer. Angela Aguiar, of Lauderhill, was a single mother and real estate agent. For loved ones like Elijah Aguiar, knowing no one has paid for his mother’s death has taken its toll.

“I’m not healed all the way; I don’t think I ever will be,” Elijah Aguiar, now 25, said. “My life turned upside down.”

Court documents show Angela Aguiar bought a $1 million life insurance policy about a month before her death. She named her

boyfriend, Omar Best Collymore, as her primary beneficiary.

He submitted a claim for the money two years after her death, records show.

However, before the insurance money could be paid out, the insurer investigated, given Angela Aguiar’s death happened within its “contestability period” and had been ruled a homicide. In email exchanges between a Fort Lauderdale detective and insurance claims analyst in June and September 2010, the detective said Best Collymore was still considered a suspect in the case.

“No progress. Yes, Omar Best is still a suspect,” the detective wrote.

Whether detectives have cleared him of any wrongdoing in the murder or whether he is still suspected of being involved remains unknown. Police would not comment further on the case.

Best Collymore could not be reached for comment despite multiple attempts by telephone.

Ultimately, the civil case was resolved and Best Collymore was awarded $400,000. The rest of the money went to Angela Aguiar’s son.

Since her Angela Aguiar’s killing, police have released few details and currently say the murder is an active investigation. The shooting happened in the 100 block of Northwest Second Avenue where she was found in the street west of the railroad tracks and Broward County’s Transit bus terminal.

According to a police report, an officer who responded saw Angela Aguiar in the arms of Best Collymore on the ground near the passenger side of their Ford F-150. The officer saw blood on the seat. Best Collymore told police that the couple planned to meet with friends at a downtown bar and the shooting happened after parking the truck, the report said. As he got out of the driver’s seat and bent down to tie his shoe, he heard a “commotion” and stood up, it said.

He walked around the back of the truck and saw a man standing next to Angela Aguiar. According to the report, Best Collymore shouted an expletive and then ran for cover and heard gunshots.

Best Collymore returned to find Angela Aguiar injured. According to a medical examiner’s report, she was shot in the head and chest.

Her son thinks police have “dropped the ball” on a case that went cold. He believes his mother was targeted and someone knows who pulled the trigger. Although his son and daughter will never get a chance to meet their grandmother, bringing the gunman to justice would be “like closing the chapter,” he said.