Local News

HIALEAH (CBS4) ― Neighbors are telling police that a love triangle is at the center of a homicide in which the victim's body was stuffed in a crawl space underneath his home. Thursday night the woman at the center of that alleged love triangle denied it to CBS4 News. 

Neighbors believe 33-year-old Cuban immigrant Jose Ramon Allegre Rodriguez was killed because he was having an affair with Daniella Fara, the common-law wife of his landlord, Nestor O. Garcia. Garcia and Fara live across the street from where Allegre Rodriguez's body was discovered after neighbors reported foul smells coming from the home.

Garcia has disappeared and while police say he is not a suspect, they do confirm that they have been unable to find him.

Fara told us she knew Allegre Rodriguez, "but I knew him only as a neighbor." She spoke to CBS4 at her home as she opened the door and looked out across the street, where the victim's home was still wrapped with yellow crime-scene tape.

We asked her if she was in love with Allegre Rodriguez. "No, absolutely not, I had no interest in him," she said.

Then she addressed what several neighbors had been saying: "It's not like everyone imagines. I don't know where they got that. It's nothing but rumors."

It's another development in a bizarre story.

Rodriguez had not been seen since Saturday. His cousin, Yissel Ona, said that when her father went to Allegre Rodriguez's home this week, "he found that his bed sheet was missing and there was blood on the floor." Neighbors called police about the foul odors coming from the home at 650 East 19th Street.

Police responded Wednesday night and tore up floor boards to get at the stench. Then, after some digging, they found the partially-decomposed body in a shallow grave, about a foot beneath the home. "This person went to great lengths to put the body under the house," said Hialeah Police Detective Carl Zogby, "and then put the body in a shallow grave and cover it."

Police had not heard from the Medical Examiner's Office about a cause of death, but they did say they had a few "persons of interest." They would not say who they were looking for.

Neighbors also said they overheard Allegre Rodriguez and Garcia having an argument about Garcia's wife. Fara told us she and Garcia did not argue about Allegre Rodriguez.

Detective Zogby said, "It is true that we have not been able to locate the landlord. But we are not considering him a suspect at this point. We do not have a reason to look for him. We just can't find him right now."

Now, Yissel Ona and the victim's other loved ones are remembering him through photographs at their home, with lit candles in front of them.

"He was one of the best things. He was happy, friendly," said Ona. "He got along with everyone. This is very, very difficult. He was really, really close to all of us. He used to come over here to sleep over and eat with us. It's a shock to us. We didn't expect this."

We asked her how much it would mean to get some answers. "A lot," Ona said. "I just hope they can get the man who did this and get him to explain. Just talk to him and find out why."

The victim's uncle, Jorge Ona, was faced with the grim task of calling the victim's mother and father in Santa Clara, Cuba.

"He was a very bright guy," said Jorge Ona of his nephew. "I knew all along that foul play must have been involved because my nephew was not easily fooled by anybody."

"I am just going to keep on waiting until the investigation is over and until they find this guy. We need some justice."


CBS4's Marybel Rodriguez contributed to this report.

(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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