A woman arrested in connection with the murder of a Hialeah man who went missing last month allegedly helped her boyfriend accused in the killing clean the crime scene, according to a new warrant that details the investigation into the homicide.
Ariela Alvarez-Cabrera, 27, is facing charges of accessory after the fact and tampering with physical evidence in connection with the murder of 37-year-old Daylon Fleitas Gonzalez.
Alvarez-Cabrera had surrendered to authorities in Mexico on Sept. 8 and was extradited and booked into Broward’s main jail, before she was booked into a Miami-Dade jail on Tuesday, records showed.
Miami-Dade Corrections
Miami-Dade Corrections
Ariela Alvarez-Cabrera
Her boyfriend, 32-year-old Alfredo Carballo Gonzalez, is still being sought in connection with the murder and is considered “armed and dangerous” by authorities.
Fleitas disappeared on Aug. 3, the day he met with Carballo in the area of 95th Avenue and Northwest 106th Street in Medley, authorities said.
According to the new arrest warrant, Fleitas was meeting with his friend Carballo to receive $10,000 that Carballo owed him.
Carballo told Fleitas’ girlfriend that Fleitas never showed, and on Aug. 4, a missing person investigation was launched by Hialeah Police after the girlfriend reported him missing, the warrant said.
On Aug. 5, the Fleitas’ girlfriend received a text message from an unknown number that identified themself as Fleitas and “stated that he had been stopped by police and ICE and would be fleeing the United States to Mexico,” the warrant said.
Hialeah Police Department
Hialeah Police Department
Daylon Fleitas Gonzalez
The girlfriend asked a question only the victim would have known and the sender deflected an answer, leading the girlfriend to believe it was a hoax.
Investigators later found Sunpass photos of the victim’s truck on Aug. 3 that showed the operator of the truck didn’t match the description of the victim but did match Carballo, the warrant said.
On Aug. 8, Fleitas’ vehicle was found abandoned in a field near Southwest 227th Avenue and Southwest 260th Street, and there were blood stains inside along with blood-stained clothing and shoes, the warrant said.
Investigators were able to find surveillance footage of the meeting between Fleitas and Carballo that shows Carballo getting into Fleitas’ pickup in the seat behind him, the warrant said.
Carballo was later seen in the footage dragging Fleitas’ body, the warrant said.
A couple hours later, Alvarez-Cabrera arrived at the scene in her SUV and made contact with her boyfriend, the warrant said.
Hialeah Police
Hialeah Police
Daylon Fleitas Gonzalez, Ariela Alvarez-Cabrera, Alfredo Carballo Gonzalez
The two leave and return, and Alvarez-Cabrera appeared to be assisting with cleaning Fleitas’ truck, while a recycling bin was seen in the bed of the truck, the warrant said.
Alvarez-Cabrera later drove off in her vehicle, followed by Carballo who was driving Fleitas’ truck, the warrant said.
Alvarez-Cabrera’s SUV returned hours later and Carballo was seen getting into his vehicle and driving off, the warrant said.
On Aug. 9, a recycling bin was found with Fleitas’ body inside in a wooded area along Southwest 203rd Avenue.
Fleitas had numerous sharp force injuries to the face neck and back and his death was ruled a homicide.
On Aug. 13, after the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office took over the investigation, authorities announced they were searching for Alvarez-Cabrera, Carballo and an infant that may have been with them.
Ariely Alvarez Cabrera was taken into custody on Monday, Sept. 8
After Alvarez-Cabrera surrendered, authorities said the infant, the child of Alvarez-Cabrera and Carballo, was found safe and back in Florida.
Alvarez-Cabrera made her first appearance before a Miami-Dade judge on Wednesday, where her defense attorney claimed she didn’t know of the killing and was just going to meet her boyfriend.
But prosecutors said she helped try to cover up the murder and that she and Carballo were able to get to Texas and flee to Mexico.
Her defense attorney sought to have her bond lowered to $40,000, noting that she self surrendered in Mexico, has no criminal record and isn’t a flight risk.
“Now when my client found out about the investigation, she then cooperated with authorities, she self-surrendered and helped in the process so that she can be here in Miami to prove her innocence,” defense attorney Bijan Parwaresch said.
But Judge Mindy Glazer said she’s keeping a $200,000 bond in place, and ordered Alvarez-Cabrera to surrender her passport and be under house arrest if she posts bond.
The mother of a Hialeah man who went missing and was later found dead spoke about the crime after one of the suspects turned herself in to police in Mexico after more than a month on the run. NBC6’s Christian Colón reports