By JOSE PAGLIERY
jpagliery@MiamiHerald.com
What appears to be a murder-suicide in a South Miami-Dade home has left a young man critically injured and his 9-year-old sister and her stepfather dead.
It was gray, rainy and near freezing Saturday morning, when police were called to a one-story home in the 20500 block of Southwest 125th Avenue. When they arrived at about 10 a.m., they found a 24-year-old man who had been shot minutes earlier, Miami-Dade police said.
Although he was gravely injured, he led officers to the back of the home.
But as officers neared the backyard, they heard one final shot, according to Miami-Dade police spokesman Detective Javier Baez.
There, they found the young man's 55-year-old stepfather, Julian Marin, dead with a gunshot wound.
After searching the house, officers found that Marin's 9-year-old stepdaughter, Caroline Camelo, had also been shot.
Caroline was barely clinging to life when she was transported to Miami Children's Hospital, but she died a short time later.
The young man, who neighbors believed to be Oscar Camelo, was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital's Ryder Trauma Center, where he was still fighting for his life Saturday afternoon. Baez said the man's wounds were severe enough that the hospital listed him in critical condition.
Although police did not identify by name those involved in Saturday's shooting, they did say the stepfather, believed to be Marin, was likely the shooter.
Neighbors said they heard no gunshots, although police discovered there had been several.
SHY FOURTH-GRADER
Denise Urquiza, who lives in a home just behind Caroline, said the girl was the only child at the residence. Urquiza said her 6-year-old son, Ray, often played with Caroline, as both took gymnastics classes together after school.
Neighbors and friends say Caroline was a shy fourth-grader at Caribbean Elementary School and would often be seen jumping on her trampoline in her backyard. The tiny gymnast's most recent achievement -- being able to gracefully walk backwards on the balance beam at her gym -- had amused family and friends.
``She's a cute, sweet little thing,'' Urquiza said.
Crime scene investigators arrived hours after the shooting, covering their shoes with white wrapping as they walked into the home.
TAKEN AWAY
After hearing of Caroline's death, a sobbing Urquiza called Marin ``a cowardly bastard who should have just shot himself.''
``He took everything that she'll ever be away from her,'' she said. ``My son can't understand this, and I have to somehow explain to him that her daddy did this to her.''
According to Miami-Dade court records, Marin ended a previous 21-year marriage in 2005 and wed a fellow Colombian, Martha Carmona, just two months later. The divorce records show he was an auto mechanic with two children of his own.
According to neighbors, Marin's second marriage was also in jeopardy, as Carmona was planning on divorcing him. No records showing such action were found in the county's court system.
Neighbor Dolly Millard said she now thinks Marin wasn't stable enough to deal with losing her.
Miami Herald staff writer Diana Moskovitz contributed to this report.
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