Married uncle shoots and kills niece, 21, with whom he was having a secret affair because he thought she spent the night with someone else
A 44-year-old Florida man has been arrested after being accused of fatally shooting his 21-year-old niece with whom he was having a secret sexual affair, police said.
According to the arrest report obtained by NBC San Diego, Stephen Myers provided police with a full confession about the shooting.
Authorities responded to a call of shots fired in the morning on Friday, July 26, in the 15000 block of SW 307th Street and found Winnie Mendoza's body lying in the driveway in front of her home.
Police said Myers, who is married to Mendoza's aunt, followed the victim home at around 8 a.m. He got out of his truck with a firearm and started fighting with her. He demanded to know where she had been all night, police said.
Following a heated argument, the accused shot the victim multiple times and fled the scene.
Myers then drove home and told her 34-year-old wife Luisa Amanda Mendoza that he had shot their niece.
He was later arrested and charged with second-degree murder as officials recovered the murder weapon from the scene.
He was being held jail without a bond.
Myers told the investigators that he was jealous because he believed Mendoza had spent Thursday night with someone else.
"The defendant would pose a threat to society given the fact that he has exhibited violence with a firearm," a prosecutor said at Myer's hearing on Saturday.
He is scheduled to appear before the court again next month.
Angel Calderon, the victim's uncle, told CBS4 that the family members were still struggling to understand Winnie's death.
“We feel real bad right now. We feel real bad about what happened. She was a very good person. I don’t know why anyone would’ve done this. I have a lotta question. I just don’t understand this,” Calderon said. “She was a student and she also worked two jobs and we were all looking forward to her birthday coming up next month in August. All I know now is that the police called me when I was in work at Publix and they said my niece have been shot. I hope they find whoever did this. This is terrible.”
According to the victim's family members, Winnie-- who was studying to become a pharmacist-- was shot twice in the upper torso. She was described by her loved ones as a "very good girl."
“We do not know what happened but it is really scary," the victim's aunt, Ana, said. "My mother was inside the house when it happened. Now we need to find out from police what happened to my niece.”