The ex-wife of a man accused of killing his former partner and his two daughters before taking his own life in Doral believes the complex and contentious relationship between him and the girls’ mother may have affected his emotional and mental state.
Investigators with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office say 11-year-old Savannah and 8-year-old Sienna were stabbed to death along with their mother, Melanie Hyer.
Detectives believe the girls’ father, Ryan Whiten, was responsible for the killings before taking his own life.
Deputies discovered the bodies on Tuesday during a welfare check at the family’s home.
Hyer and Whiten separated years ago and were co-parenting their daughters, sources close to the case told NBC6.
Speaking exclusively with NBC6’s sister station Telemundo 51 from Venezuela, Hilda Zerpa, Whiten’s ex-wife, described his relationship with Melanie Hyer as “turbulent.” She said that during her marriage, she witnessed ongoing conflicts involving custody and access to the girls—something that, she said, ultimately also affected her own relationship with Whiten.
“It was always a turbulent relationship,” Zerpa said, recalling that at times Whiten asked her to go with him when he went to pick up his daughters because he didn’t want to go alone. She also said she received messages Hyer sent through the children.
In recent posts, Zerpa also mentioned the sadness she says she saw in Whiten during the girls’ graduation, as well as various personal conflicts that may have begun to affect him emotionally.
Zerpa’s statements align with reports from local media, which said the former couple frequently disagreed over how to raise the girls, even though both shared parental responsibility.
Family psychologist Christina Ballinotti explained that cases like this can be linked to an extreme break from reality and an accumulation of emotional factors that ultimately trigger violent behavior.
According to the specialist, using a knife points to a particularly close and intimate form of aggression, where violence is carried out directly against the victims.
Ballinotti said that, in certain cases, a person under a high level of emotional stress can experience a loss of control tied to chemical changes in the body, which affects their ability to reason. However, she emphasized that these factors are not a justification for violence.
Videos shared on social media by a former partner of Whiten show moments of closeness between the father and his daughters—images that have raised questions about how a seemingly loving relationship could end in a tragedy of this magnitude.
For the psychologist, this outcome might have been prevented if warning signs of emotional decline had been recognized in time, or if relatives and close friends had stepped in to seek professional help.
The specialist stressed that, in highly contentious situations between former partners, creating distance, setting clear boundaries, and seeking psychological support can be crucial to preventing irreversible consequences.
Friends described the two girls as joyful and full of life.
“She was a really positive person,” said Maya, a friend of Savannah. Another friend, Miranda, said Savannah “would never stop smiling and she was always happy.”
As the Doral community continues to grapple with the impact of this tragedy, friends, relatives and neighbors are still searching for answers in a case that has shaken South Florida and reopened the conversation about mental health, family conflict, and the importance of intervening before a crisis reaches a point of no return.
Officials are encouraging anyone struggling with mental health issues to seek help. The Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is available by calling or texting 988. Same-day mental health services are also available through Mindful Care, which offers care in Florida
Hyer’s mother, Jill Hyer, her sister Corry Hyer, and her ex-husband Alvin Jaramillo, released the following statement:
“We are the family of Melanie Lauren Hyer — her mother and her sister, and Alvin Jaramillo, the man who had the privilege of being her husband, and who remained one of her closest and most devoted friends until the day she was taken from us. We speak together because Melanie deserves to have her story told accurately, and because her daughters — Savannah and Sienna — deserve the same.
Ryan Whiten’s actions have shattered our family in ways that words cannot express. Melanie was a woman of extraordinary warmth and fierce devotion to her daughters. Savannah and Sienna were joyful, bright, beloved girls who had their entire lives ahead of them. The loss of all three of them — violently, without warning — is a wound that will never heal.
We would like to clarify any confusion regarding the perpetrator of this heinous act. Ryan was the biological father of Savannah and Sienna. He and Melanie were never married, and he had a history of drug abuse. Melanie had full custody of the children with visitation by Ryan, who for a time lived in the same development. After Ryan viciously murdered Melanie and their two daughters, he took his own life.
Melanie’s ex-husband, Alvin Jaramillo, remains a loving part of the Hyer family.
We are grateful for the outpouring of love from the Doral community, from Melanie’s wide network of colleagues and clients, from the families at Downtown Doral Academy and from the countless people whose lives she touched. Please hold the memory of Melanie, Savannah and Sienna gently in your hearts.”
Portions of this story were translated from English with the help of a generative AI tool. An NBC6 editor reviewed the translation.