Charge Dropped Against West Dade Man Accused Of Murder
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MIAMI (CBSMiami) – State prosecutors have dropped a murder charge against a Miami-Dade man accused of killing his landlord.
Miguel Diaz, 20, was arrested and charged with second degree murder on July 23rd. Diaz had called police to a home off Flagler and SW 109th Avenue that day to report a burglary. He told arriving officers that there was a man inside the home armed with a knife.
Since all of the home's windows and doors were locked, officers forced their way in through the front door. Inside they did not find any burglar, but they did find the bloody body of a woman in the kitchen area. She had a cord around her neck and had been stabbed several times in the neck. Investigators learned that Diaz had rented a room in the home from the woman.
Officers began to doubt Diaz's story, which they said changed several times during questioning.
Surveillance video from a neighbor's home did capture an unidentified man enter the home through Diaz's side bedroom door. It also caught Diaz riding his bike to, and then away, from the house twice before he met with police.
Investigators believed Diaz tried to cover-up the crime by claiming someone who looked like him had broken into the home and killed the woman, so he was charged with murder.
During a hearing Wednesday, prosecutors dropped that charge. Diaz's attorney said he was waiting on the State Attorney's Office close out memo on the case to see whey the state did not proceed with prosecution.