Bloodcurdling screams erupted as paramedics rushed to save a little girl after her father allegedly slit her throat and left her to die.
Jerónimo Durán is charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse of his two-year-old daughter, Melody Alana Rose Durán.
Cameras at a neighbor’s home captured Durán taking the girl to his home in Pembroke Pines, south of Miami, on Tuesday morning, according to images obtained by NBC6 sample.
Duran, 33, left the house at 7:08 a.m. to pick up Melody at her mother Mona Rosita Clarke’s house and returned at 7:24 a.m.
Jerónimo Durán is accused of murdering his two-year-old daughter, Melody Alana Rose Durán. They are photographed with the girl’s mother, Mona Rosita Clarke.
Screams of anguish could be heard on a neighbor’s camera footage coming from the home as paramedics arrived and took Melody to the hospital.
The accused killer father got out of the car and slowly walked to the other side, apparently distracted and lost in thought.
Melody’s grandmother, Hilda Carballo, arrived at 9:32 a.m. in her gray truck and walked inside the house to what she said was a distressing scene.
Carballo allegedly saw Duran “on top of” Melody and “noticed that the girl did not appear to be breathing,” police said.
He called 911 in a panic and said, “What I need is an ambulance, quick.”
“I’ll send the ambulance, but I need to know what’s going on,” an operator responded.
‘I think the girl is unconscious. I do not know what is happening. The girl is pale and she does not react,” the grandmother said in Spanish.
Another radioed the paramedics to “report that she is pale and unresponsive.”
When Durán arrived home with Melody, he got out of the car and slowly walked to the other side, apparently distracted and lost in thought.
Melody’s grandmother, Hilda Carballo, arrived at 9:32 a.m. in her gray truck and walked into the house to what she said was a distressing scene.
The neighbor’s cameras filmed a black Mercedes sedan speeding up to the house at 9:44 a.m. and Jorge Carballo, Durán’s stepfather, running toward the door.
He performed CPR on Melody while he and Hilda Carballo waited for the ambulance to arrive about three minutes later.
In the images coming from the house, screams of anguish could be heard.
Police and paramedics found Melody’s throat cut and rushed her to hospital, but she did not survive.
Officers found a bloody knife nearby and arrested Duran.
“Detectives were able to establish probable cause to charge him with first-degree murder,” Pembroke Pines Police Sergeant Jason Palant said.
The neighbor’s cameras filmed a black Mercedes sedan speeding up to the house at 9:44 a.m. and Jorge Carballo, Durán’s stepfather, running toward the door.
In May of last year, Clarke had filed a motion for full custody of Melody that detailed Duran’s terrifying mental breakdown. She requested supervised visits for Durán, but the court allowed him unsupervised visits and he allegedly killed her during a
‘He was questioned by detectives, spoke with detectives and, through his statement, helped establish probable cause for his arrest.
“However, we do not have a motive at this time.”
Duran and Clarke were together for about 10 years before splitting last year.
Clarke captioned their first photo together on April 21, 2014: “He is the reason for my happiness.” I love my lion.’
Other photos show them dancing at a costume party dressed as a banana and a fairytale princess, and celebrating Clarke’s pregnancy in 2021.
Melody was born in November 2021 and the couple seemed delighted to be parents for the first time.
The couple was together for 10 years. Clarke captioned this first photo of them together on April 21, 2014: “He is the reason for my happiness.” I love my lion.’
Melody was born in November 2021 and the couple seemed delighted to be parents for the first time.
But in May of last year, Clarke had filed a motion for full custody of Melody that detailed Duran’s terrifying mental breakdown.
“The father suffers from mental illness… paranoia and anger issues (hitting the wall),” it said.
‘He also suffers from anxiety and… his behavior is erratic, aggressive, violent and dangerous for the mother and the child.
‘The father has abused the family dog (punched him in the face)… the father is suicidal and has a history of hearing voices to end his life.’
The document Durán “chased the mother into a bedroom with the child in her arms and hit a fan.”
Clarke’s motion also claimed that he “abused the family dog, punching it in the face.”
Durán was charged with first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse
Police block off the location in Pembroke Pines, south of Miami.
He asked that Durán undergo a psychological evaluation since he was ‘hearing voices to end his life, some while the child was alone with him.’
Clarke wanted Duran to take an eight-week parenting course and for the court to appoint a guardian ad litem for Melody to help with supervised visitation.
However, in March the court granted Durán unsupervised visits and he allegedly killed her during one of them on Tuesday.
Duran appeared in court Thursday, wearing a protective vest to prevent self-harm, where he was ordered held without bail at the Broward County Jail.
Palant said Durán could face additional charges as the investigation progresses.