Latest news with #DariousCoon
CBS News
27-07-2025
- CBS News
New York tourist found murdered in Miami parking garage remembered by family, friends at funeral service
A 35-year-old woman from New York City who was found murdered in a parking garage in Miami two weekends ago was honored on Sunday at a funeral service in Hialeah. Friends of Chastidy Charlotte Rodriguez gathered at the Mother of Our Redeemer Catholic Parish to remember her. City of Miami Police said that she and 31-year-old Darious Coon from Detroit, whom she had met in Miami, were discovered at 10 a.m. in a car that was on the 10th floor of a parking garage by an apartment building at Northeast 2nd Avenue and 4th Street, just west of Biscayne Boulevard and Bayfront Park. Police said they had been shot and killed, and said it appeared that this did not involve a robbery since both of them still had their belongings with them. Miami Police spokesman Ofc. Mike Vega told CBS News Miami that the crimes could have been committed anywhere between July 16 and 19. He also said they are reviewing surveillance tape between those dates and are appealing for anyone who heard or saw anything suspicious to come forward and call Miami Police or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477). "I am praying that God will accept my friend to heaven," said Rodriguez's friend Franchesca Martinez. "I remember her as a good friend. She was a great person. She was a great mother. She was a great daughter." She hopes the Miami Police investigation will pay off and lead to whoever committed the crimes. "We need to resolve this issue," Martinez said. "I want whoever did this, I want them in jail, at least." Rodriguez's brother told CBS News Miami that his sister had lived in New York City for more than 10 years and loved to visit Miami. He said she was thinking of leaving New York City in the next few years, and Miami would have been one of her top choices as her next destination. He said that her body will be sent to the Dominican Republic in the next few days, and that's where family members will hold their funeral service for her. "She was a good person and a good person and everyone around her knew she had a good heart. I don't want this to be just another case. We want justice," he told CBS News Miami on Friday. "We also need to know the motive because it is not fair that someone you love, who did not deserve this, had to go out so early. I hope detectives can find the person or the people who did this."
CBS News
25-07-2025
- CBS News
Victim's brother appeals for help after 2 tourists found shot in Miami parking garage
A grieving brother is calling for justice after two tourists were found shot to death inside a parked car in a downtown Miami garage, as police urge the public to come forward with information. The victims, identified as 35-year-old Chastidy Charlotte Rodriguez of New York City and 31-year-old Darious Coon of Detroit, were discovered last Saturday around 10 a.m. on the 10th floor of a parking garage near Northeast 4th Street and 2nd Avenue, just west of Biscayne Boulevard and Bayfront Park. According to Miami Police, both had been shot several times. Investigators believe the pair had only recently met while visiting Miami. Rodriguez's brother, who spoke to CBS News Miami on condition of anonymity, described his sister as kind-hearted and devoted. "She was a good person and a good mother. Everyone around her would tell you she has a good heart," he said. Determined to seek justice, he added, "We don't want this to be another case. We want justice. She did not deserve to go out this way. We hope that the detective will find the person guilty of this, or maybe if it was more than one person, all of them will face the consequences of justice." He also expressed the family's need for clarity about what happened: "We hope to know the motive because it is not fair to us to not know why someone did this and why she had to leave us so early in life." Miami Police spokesperson Officer Mike Vega said the department had been alerted that the victims were missing prior to their discovery. The investigation began after someone reported a foul odor coming from the vehicle. Vega said it's possible the bodies had been in the car since the prior Wednesday. "This is a 3 to 4-day investigation and it does not appear to be a robbery because both people in the vehicle still had their belongings with them," he noted. "We need anyone who was near the parking lot between the 16th and 19th and who heard any shots being fired or observed anything weird or suspicious to contact us," Vega said. He added that detectives are combing through several days of surveillance footage: "We have 3 or 4 days' worth of video to go through frame by frame to see when the car entered the building and parked there. We are looking at a lot of surveillance video." Anyone with information is asked to contact Miami Police or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).
