HIALEAH GARDENS, Fla. – A woman who police said was the victim of an arson and dog theft at the hands of her estranged husband spoke to Local 10 News on Friday, as new video shows the suspect running off with the pooch after torching the Hialeah Gardens apartment.
Miami-Dade police said Roisel Valdes Cuello, 32, set fire to the apartment, located in the 9800 block of Northwest 82nd Avenue, just after 1 a.m. Sunday.
Police said Valdes Cuello was targeting Ana Castellano, who was staying at at a friend’s apartment with her 9-year-old daughter after separating from him. The fire damaged that unit as well as neighboring ones.
“It still surprises me that there is that much evil in one human being,” Castellano told Local 10 News in Spanish.
Castellano’s nearly-2-year-old Maltipoo, named Nico, was still nowhere to be found as of Friday.
“Nico is everything for my daughter. Everything,” she said. “She treated him like a little brother. He’s everything to us.”
Valdes Cuello was charged with burglary, attempted murder and criminal mischief, but made his $110,000 bond and was released.
Castellano said police checked the home the couple once shared and didn’t find the dog, saying her priority is getting justice.
Anyone with information is asked to call Miami-Dade police.