Octavia Barnett posted a message on the social network site that said her ex-boyfriend Lineten Belizaire was at the door of her home in Florida.
Minutes later the 21-year-old was shot dead along with her friend Natasha Plummer and her six-month-old son Carlton Stringer Jr.
Barnett’s 11-month-old son and the suspected killer was the only survivor of the shooting spree.
The toddler was found in his dead mother’s arms. Belizaire is thought to be his father and police believe he spared his son.
A neighbor who lived below the women at the Somerset Condominiums, Lauderdale Lakes, said she heard gunshots early that Sunday morning and later discovered blood dripping through the ceiling.
Police said a Facebook posting by Barnet directly led them to Belizaire.
Investigators revealed part of the posting in which Barnett wrote the phrases ‘open the door’ and ‘who is it’.
In the same message, she addressed her 11-month-old son, writing that ‘your daddy came back from out of town from 4monthes [sic] ago better late then [sic] never’.
Police said the Facebook posting was crucial in leading them to a suspect.
‘Octavia Barnett’s last posting actually pointed to the suspect, and thankfully she did that because that one post on Facebook could be the thing that brings justice to this case,’ said Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti.
‘There was no 911 call at that time. There was an entry on her Facebook page indicating he was at her door.
‘We believe that shortly after that post is when the incident occurred.’
Police used the Facebook post during their investigation said spokesman Sgt Dave Elwood.
‘I don’t know if that was her intention at the time. I don’t know if she had a feeling or some kind of premonition, but it definitely has become helpful in this case, extremely,’ Elwood said.
Belizaire has the same last name as the 11-month-old boy whose life was spared by the killer.
Lineten Belizaire’s name is on the child’s birth certificate.
The bodies of the three victims were found inside Barnett’s home in Lauderdale Lakes.
Neighbors in the apartment complex said they heard multiple gunshots in the victim’s apartment on the day of the murders.
Police also said Carlton Stringer Sr went to the apartment to check on the women and as soon as he stepped in he realized something was wrong.
He called police soon after and they made the grisly discovery.
Lamberti said that when police got into the Somerset Drive apartment, ‘they found a crime scene that even the most veteran detectives would have a tough time dealing with’.
Records show Belizaire was arrested in 2008 in Miami-Dade for aggravated assault with a firearm stemming from a domestic violence incident.
Prosecutors dropped the case after the victim failed to appear at depositions after being given notices six times, said Miami-Dade State Attorney spokesman Ed Griffith.
The victim in that case was not Barnett.
Belizaire has been charged with three counts of first degree murder.
No comments:
Post a Comment