Authorities: Rural Collier County murder suicide tied to Miami

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OCHOPEE, Fla. – Deputies are pursuing a link between three rural Collier County deaths and a death investigation in Miami, according to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office.

On Thursday, a man, woman and female child were discovered shot to death in a car near a vacant lot at 54225 U.S. 41 in rural Collier County near the Miami-Dade County line.

James Brunson, who lived nearby, said he first saw the car around 9:30 a.m. He thought the people inside were asleep. But once he returned, the car was still there.

“When I came back and I decided to knock on the window, there was no response. I knew it was bad. I could see it wasn’t good,” he said.

In a call to 9-1-1 Brunson is heard describing the scene to a dispatcher.

Brunson: There’s a dead woman on the side of the road inside a black car, a Chevrolet black car Malibu… between mile marker 48 and 45.
9-1-1: What makes you say that she’s dead? Why do you think she’s dead?
Brunson: Because she doesn’t answer and there’s blood all over her face.
9-1-1: Does it look like she’s been in an accident?
Brunson: No! Car looks fine. She’s just off the road in front of my place.

Miami police said they were told it was an apparent murder-suicide and it is tied to the death of a Miami-Dade County woman in her forties.

That woman was found dead in an apartment at N.W. 51st and 5th Avenue just south of the Little Haiti neighborhood, according to Miami police. Collier County deputies called Miami police, asking for help checking on the woman around 9:30 p.m. on Thursday, Miami police said. No one answered the door when police arrived to the apartment, so they forced themselves inside where they found the woman dead, police said.

No further information was immediately available.

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