CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – Yvonne Serrano called 911 just before 6 a.m. Saturday morning after she said she discovered a dead body in a vehicle in her driveway.
“I don’t know. I just walked out. There’s a car in my driveway with a dead body,” Serrano told the dispatcher in newly released audio from the 911 call.
Nearly 48 hours after placing the call, the 51-year-old Serrano appeared in a Broward County courtroom in connection with the fatal shooting of Daniela Maya.
The relationship between Serrano and Maya, 21, remains unclear. However, detectives were able to confirm that the two were part of a larger group of people who attend the gym Training for Warriors.
According to detectives, several gym members had planned an evening out to watch a movie followed by drinks at the World of Beer located at 4437 Lyons Road.
Detectives noted that video and photos captured from the evening showed Serrano and Maya “conversing, laughing and drinking for several hours.”
At 1:25 a.m., the two were seen leaving the bar together after Maya offered to give Serrano a ride home, witnesses said.
A text message recovered from a friend of Maya’s during the investigation confirmed that Maya gave Serrano a ride home, detectives said.
At about 2 a.m., Maya and Serrano entered the Maplewood Isle community in Coral Springs, guardhouse records showed.
Maya’s vehicle was seen pulling into the driveway of a home owned by Serrano at about the same time, doorbell video captured by neighboring homes showed.
From the time the vehicle turned into the residence to the time Coral Springs Police officers arrived after Serrano’s 911 call, no other vehicles were seen approaching Serrano’s home, detectives said.
Arriving officers questioned Serrano, who said she called 911 immediately upon finding the body and that she was on her way to the gym for an early morning workout when she discovered the body.
Serrano also told detectives that she had never seen Maya before or the vehicle in the driveway, detectives said.
Detectives noted blood on the passenger side of the vehicle and found a single 9mm shell casing on the passenger side floorboard.
According to Serrano’s account of the evening to detectives, she didn’t remember leaving World of Beer and she woke up in her bed with no recollection of how she got home.
With the help of witnesses, detectives confirmed that Serrano was the last person seen with Maya while still alive and obtained a search warrant to enter Serrano’s residence.
A preliminary search revealed a damp tank top in the laundry room that Serrano said she had worn out that evening, detectives said.
After a search of the residence, Serrano agreed to go with detectives to the Coral Springs Police Department. Serrano was not placed in handcuffs, detectives noted.
While being interviewed, Serrano changed her initial story, saying that she woke up in Maya’s car just before 6 a.m. and immediately called authorities when she discovered the dead body.
Serrano also revealed that she owned three guns, two of which were 9 mm handguns and also held an active concealed carry permit.
According to Serrano, while she was on the phone with 911 dispatch, she entered the home, holstered the alleged weapon that fatally shot Maya, proceeded to delete Ring doorbell camera footage and washed her tank top because there was blood on it, detectives said.
The time it took for the call to be placed to the officers arriving at the scene was seven minutes.
As detectives observed the gun, they noticed that the Luger silver bullets matched the casing found in Maya’s vehicle and that the magazine clip was missing one bullet, detectives said.
Crime scene investigators also confirmed that gun and holster both had remnants of human blood on them.
Detectives established probable cause and arrested Serrano.
Serrano is expected to reappear in bond court late Monday or Tuesday morning as she seeks bond. Charges against her include second-degree murder and tampering with physical evidence.