DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – A Daytona Beach murder suspect is dead after a multi-county chase ended in a crash in Titusville, and investigators are now laying out the timeline of events that unfolded Monday night.
Daytona Beach police were called to Reena Drive following reports of a shooting and found a woman dead inside a home. The suspect fled the scene before officers arrived.
Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young identified the suspect as Robert Reyes Jr., 54, and said he killed his estranged wife, Jaqueline Reyes, before fleeing — while she was on the phone with their son.
“This is a couple that were separated, and she actually moved to Daytona Beach about a year ago to separate from him — to get away from him,” Young said.
Young said Reyes showed up to Jaqueline’s townhome, forced his way inside and shot and killed her.
“They were estranged and from what we’re being told, the husband was trying to get her back and yesterday he found out that she had moved on and was dating new people, which infuriated him,” Young said.
At the time of the shooting, Jaqueline was on the phone with one of the couple’s sons — and that son called 911.
“Based on what we can see, he intended to also kill himself right there in that townhome, but the gun malfunctioned,” Young said.
Neighbors witnessed Reyes flee the scene.
“There was a couple witnesses there that were neighbors that actually saw the suspect flee the scene,” Young said.
Daytona Beach police put out an alert to surrounding agencies. Nearly an hour later, Reyes’ vehicle was spotted in Titusville, where FLOCK camera license plate readers flagged the car near Sand Point Park, close to the Max Brewer Bridge.
Titusville police attempted to stop Reyes, but he fled and crashed into a pond. Officers found him dead inside the vehicle and believe he shot himself.
“My heart goes out to the three sons that basically lost both parents in a two-hour time span,” Young said.
Young said police had previously been called once before for Reyes burglarizing Jaqueline’s home in December. He said Reyes is believed to be from St. Cloud, and investigators are not sure why he ended up in Titusville.