Arrests Made In Miami Beach Burning Car Murder

MIAMI BEACH (CBSMiami) – Three people have been arrested in connection with the death of a Miami Beach whose body was found in the back of a burning vehicle in August of last year.

Martin Gallegos, Ellis McDaniel and a 14-year old boy have been charged in the death of Cordell Cooper. An autopsy revealed that he had been beaten, stabbed and strangled prior to being set on fire.

According to police Gallegos, 20, and teen had originally planned to rob and carjack Cooper. But as thing went wrong, the pair reportedly decided to kill Cooper to keep him from identifying them to police.

"He had nothing for them to rob, all he had was an ATM card and there was no money in account so they weren't able to do what they set out to do," said police spokesman Detective Juan Sanchez.  "They were afraid he was going to be able to recognize them because they were with him a large amount of time."

Investigators said Cooper was killed and his body was left in his car at 973 Bay Drive.  Gallegos then allegedly got in touch with an acquaintance, McDaniel, who told him to burn the body to avoid identification and being linked to the crime. McDaniel reportedly Gallegos to a gas station and provided him a gas container, which Mr. Gallegos subsequently used to set Cooper and the car on fire.

Using the vehicle's registration, investigators were able to identify Cooper's body. Police said a confidential informant led detectives to the two primary subjects. They didn't have to look too hard for Gallegos; he was in Miami-Dade Jail for a probation violation.