Father facing first-degree murder charge after 2-year-old daughter killed in Pembroke Pines

PEMBROKE PINES, Fla. – Police arrested a 33-year-old man following the death of a 2-year-old girl in Pembroke Pines on Tuesday, authorities confirmed.

Pembroke Pines police said officers and fire rescue personnel responded to a “domestic incident” just before 9:45 a.m. Tuesday, regarding an injured child at a home near the 400 block of Southwest 177th Avenue.

On Wednesday, the 911 calls were released.

“Send an ambulance. That’s what I need, quickly!” the suspect’s grandmother is heard telling the dispatcher in Spanish. “She’s unconscious, pale, please, quickly!”

Upon arrival, authorities said paramedics found the girl bleeding profusely from her neck and provided immediate medical assistance.

Local 10 News obtained audio from a police officer telling paramedics, in part, “I got a 3-year-old girl with a slit throat.”

Despite efforts to save the child’s life, police said the girl later succumbed to her injuries at Memorial Regional Hospital.

Police confirmed the girl’s father, Jeronimo Anthony Duran, was taken into custody and is facing one count each of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse.

Neighbors told Local 10 News they often saw a man pushing a young girl around the neighborhood in a stroller. They also said they often saw an older woman, who is the child’s grandmother.

“It involved a 2-year-old and that’s like the worst thing I could ever hear right now. It’s unbelievable,” said neighbor Angel Martinez.

According to an arrest form, the grandmother arrived at the home and found Duran lying on top of his unconscious daughter.

She then observed Duran get up from a push position onto his knees while kneeling over his daughter, and she ran away to a bedroom, stating that Duran stayed in the kitchen and did not make any comments, staying silent, according to the arrest form.

On his Facebook page, Duran had shared photos with a woman and a small child back in 2022.

As of Tuesday night, Duran was being held without bond at the Broward Main Jail.

Detectives said the case is an ongoing investigation and there are “no current threats to the community.”

Court records obtained by Local 10 News show Duran and his ex-wife had just been through a custody battle. A judge ordered shared parental responsibility despite claims by the child’s mother that Duran suffered from mental illness, paranoia and anger issues, and that he’d been Baker Acted at least five times.

Authorities said he used a steak knife, which officers found on the kitchen floor.

Anyone with information on the case is urged to contact the Pembroke Pines Police Department at 954-431-2200 or Broward Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477.