Police Investigating Doral Hotel Homicide Involving 25-Year-Old Tourist
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DORAL (CBSMiami) – A Doral hotel turned into a crime scene Tuesday after a law enforcement source told CBS4 that the body of a 25-year-old tourist was found in a fourth floor hallway just after 1 a.m.
It was just the second homicide in the city of Doral since the police department was formed in 2008.
The Doral Police Department doesn't have a homicide bureau so Miami-Dade police are investigating the murder.
Miami-Dade police CSI investigators were captured on camera putting bags of evidence inside their vehicles.
The tourist, identified as Theodore Brown of Maryland, was in town for last weekend's "Jazz in the Gardens" festival in Miami Gardens.
Police found his body in the Courtyard Miami Airport West off NW 79th Avenue just west of the Palmetto Expressway.
"She barked a little bit but we thought that was because she heard a lot of doors opening and shut," said "Heather, who was visiting from Indiana, referring to the barking from her English bulldog which may have alerted her that something was wrong.
Heather, who was staying on the third floor, told CBS4's Peter D'Oench she was surprised when she learned a man had been killed one floor above.
"It makes you not wanna stay here. I mean I thought it was a safe place. You know, you have to have a card to get in and a card to get out," she said. "It would have been nice to let us know there was something go on, to tell us to stay in our rooms."
"We saw detectives walking around and they had evidence bags, something happened," said another hotel guest, Alex. "My friend said they closed one of the elevators, something like that."
Randolph Fu, a hotel guest from California, said, "It's not good. It makes me so scared. I am unhappy."
"This is dangerous, right. I am scared," said Fabio Cavatti, another hotel guest who is a flight attendant from Brazil.
"It's horrifying. I don't want anyone to be hurt in any way. It is just horrifying," said Tony Cicippio, from Pennsylvania. "I would just like to know what happened and how this happened. This is supposed to be a secure building."
Leah Blackmore, the General Manager of the Hotel, said in a statement, "Our sympathies go out to the family and loved ones of the deceased. As soon as we were alerted to the situation we immediately notified the authorities."
Blackmore said police were conducting a full investigation and she said the hotel was cooperating fully with them. She said it would be inappropriate to comment further.
Police are looking into where the man had been visiting from and what may have led to his death.
They have not released his name.
Anyone with information should call the Miami-Dade Police Department or Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at (305) 471-TIPS (8477).