PEMBROKE PINES, FL – Jeromino Duran, aged 33, is currently under custody and indicted with counts of first-degree murder and aggravated child abuse. He is accused of the murder of his little daughter, Melody, in their Southwest 177th Avenue residence on a routine Tuesday morning.
Disturbing surveillance footage, supplied by Duran’s next-door neighbor and family law attorney, Sergio Cabañas, records Duran’s departure and return from his house around the time of the murder. The footage also shows the emergency response that quickly followed the gruesome incident. Cabañas has released the footage to the public with the hope of highlighting the evil that is domestic violence.
The video also audios anguished cries from inside the house while paramedics strived to save Melody’s life. Additional clips depict the moment when first responders whisked the critically injured toddler into the ambulance in an attempt to rescue her life.
Duran is seen exiting his Silver Lakes community home at 7:08 a.m. and returning sixteen minutes later, alleged to have just collected Melody from her mother’s house. A gray SUV driven by Duran’s grandmother, Hilda Carballo, pulled up to the house at 9:32 a.m. It is believed that Carballo walked into the gruesome scene and immediately alerted authorities upon finding Duran over Melody’s unresponsive body.
Another individual, Jorge Carballo, is seen speeding in and parking a black Mercedes at the house shortly before he rushes inside. He reportedly performed CPR on Melody until medical personnel arrived a few minutes thereafter.
According to Pembroke Pines authorities, Melody had been inflicted with numerous severe injuries and even had her throat slit. Sadly, she was announced dead upon reaching the hospital. Duran, found at the scene and to be responsible for his daughter’s horrific death, appeared before a judge in Broward County, where he was denied bail and ordered to stay in jail until the trial.
Assistant State Attorney Eric Linder demanded Duran’s bail be set extraordinarily high based on the vicious assault outlined in the case and the evidence against him. However, the judge opted to deny bail entirely.
Disturbing court records unmask Duran’s previously flagged problematic behavior. Regardless, Melody’s parents had agreed to share custody previously. The case is far from over as the precise cause of Melody’s death is still being determined.