Cousin says she witnessed murder-suicide of ex-couple in NE Miami-Dade

After a woman was killed by her ex in northeast Miami-Dade before he turned the gun on himself, a family member is recalling the moments that led up to their violent end.

The shooting happened Wednesday at an apartment complex near Northeast 14th Avenue and 171st Street, where deputies found a man and a woman dead at the scene.

Maria Espinosa said her cousin, Denis Polo Fuentes, and Franky Paba separated a couple of months ago. She said she went with Fuentes to pick up her things from the apartment on Wednesday. 

Paba let them inside, the cousin said, and things quickly turned violent.

“When he walks out of the room, he’s waving the gun,” Espinosa said. “He was able to lock the door, and then he said that nobody was coming out of there alive.”

Espinosa said she tried to run out of the apartment, but Paba fired a shot.

“My cousin was like telling him, ‘But Franky, please don’t, don’t, what are you doing? Please stop. I’m not with anybody. I just don’t want to be with you anymore. Please leave me alone, let me get my stuff, let me get out of here,'” Espinosa recalled.

Moments later, investigators said Paba shot and killed Fuentes, then killed himself.

“I basically saw my cousin get killed in front of my face, and then her husband shot himself,” Espinosa said.

Espinosa described her cousin as a happy person who moved to the U.S. from Colombia 10 years ago.

“She was ready to start her life, and he took her from us, and nobody did anything, and it’s not fair,” Espinosa said. “I’m still shaking. I don’t think I have processed everything.”

Espinosa claimed Fuentes tried to get a restraining order. NBC6 reached out to police and checked court records but didn’t get or find any paperwork.