A 54-year-old Florida man shot and killed his estranged wife inside her Daytona Beach apartment Monday before taking his own life following a police pursuit, according to law enforcement authorities.
Police said Robert Reyes Jr. broke through the back door of Jacqueline Reyes’ apartment on Reena Drive around 6 p.m. The 44-year-old mother was on the phone with one of her three sons when the break-in happened.
Overhearing the attack, the son quickly called 911.
“I heard my mother saying ‘put down the gun,'” the son told dispatchers in a recording obtained by WFTV. “That’s when I heard the gun go off.”
Officers dispatched to the apartment found Jacqueline Reyes dead inside. Robert Reyes fled the scene, but traffic cameras spotted his vehicle roughly two hours later in Titusville, about 50 miles away. While fleeing officers, Reyes crashed his car into a pond and was subsequently found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young told reporters that the motive behind the fatal shooting was jealousy after Reyes discovered his estranged wife was dating other men.
“He forced his way into the back door and executed her,” Young said. “The husband was trying to get her back, and then he found out that she had moved on and was dating new people, which infuriated him.”
According to Young, Jacqueline Reyes had moved to Daytona Beach about a year ago to escape her husband’s abuse. However, the harassment persisted, including a prior incident where Reyes broke into her home and poured bleach over her clothes.
“So this has been going on for quite some time, and then [Monday] it came to a tragic end,” Young said. “My heart goes out to the three sons that they have that basically lost both parents within a two-hour time span.”
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