A Florida man shot and killed his girlfriend over the weekend and video-called her estranged husband to show him her body before turning himself in to Florida City police.
Alexander Roque, 48, has been jailed on a charge of second degree murder, WTVJ reported.
The victim was identified by family members as Yessenia Rodriguez Marquez, 44. Roque shot her inside a white Hyundai Tucson Saturday night, then sent her estranged husband a photo of her body. The husband said Roque called him on the phone and admitted killing Marquez, then later video-called him via WhatsApp and showed him the body.
The husband screen-recorded the call and gave it to investigators.
Police said Roque also confessed to a cousin and sent him a photo of Marquez’s body. The cousin called 911.
Roque drove to the police station and surrendered, telling them Marquez’s body and the gun he used to kill her were inside the car. Officers found Marquez in the front passenger seat and the gun on the driver’s floorboard.
“It was a moment of such despair that I cannot explain to you how immense my pain is,” Marquez’s mother said. “I felt desperate to see that he is a sadistic, evil person.”
Marquez’s ex-husband said she came to Florida from Cuba seven months ago with her 12-year-old daughter.
“He brutally murdered her there and then made a video call to the girl’s father,” Marquez’s mother said. “In the video call, he told her that he was a man and that he had to be respected. And that’s why he killed Yessenia.”
Roque appeared in court Monday on a second degree murder charge and was ordered held without bond. Judge Mindy S. Glazer cautioned him he could face a different charge, according to WSVN.
“You killed the victim, then driving around in the car with her and sending pictures of her lifeless body to people,” said Glazer. “The state may charge it as a first-degree murder.”
After his arrest, he invoked his right to remain silent and made no more statements, WPLG reported.
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[Featured image: Yessenia Rodriguez Marquez/handout and Alexander Roque/Miami Dade Corrections and Rehabilitation]
