MIAMI – Miami police are investigating after a man and his 3-year-old son were found dead Wednesday night inside an upscale apartment building, in what they believe was a murder-suicide.
According to authorities, officers arrived to the Grove at Grand Bay building at 2669 S. Bayshore Dr. shortly before 8 p.m. Wednesday after a family member broke down the door and found the father and son’s bodies.
Miami police confirmed that both the 53-year-old man and the toddler had been shot.
The father, identified as Jose Manuel Gonzalez Testino, had been indicted for a bribery and money laundering scheme in 2021 and was scheduled to be sentenced soon.
“They’re trying to determine what caused him to take his life, but more than that, what caused him to take the 3-year-old’s life -- he’s an innocent child,” a spokesman for the police department said.
Police said the mother and father were divorced and that the boy primarily lives with his mother, but had been staying with his father since Monday.
According to authorities, relatives notified police Wednesday that they had not heard from the father all day, which was unusual. The boy also didn’t show up for soccer practice.
Police said they went to the apartment, but were unable to break down the door since it was a wellness check.
Authorities confirmed that a relative then went to the apartment and broke the door down themselves, finding the two bodies.
Edward Shohat, the attorney representing Gonzalez Testino in the federal bribery and money laundering case, provided a statement to Local 10 News which read:
“It was shocking to me, but I’m convinced that this had nothing to do with this federal case. Whatever occurred last night, did not have anything to do with that. I am thoroughly familiar with the case, and while I can’t go into the details of the case, he was set to be sentenced. But there was nothing about the upcoming sentencing that would have him afraid of anything. In my view, it’s not possible that this had anything to do with that.”