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Police arrest man, call him top suspect in slayings of five
©Associated Press
September 25, 2002
LAKE WORTH -- The primary suspect in the slayings of five family members was arrested Tuesday in Orlando, police said.
Authorities say they expect to file charges against Michael Millan Roman, the nephew of one of the victims.
Roman, 29, was arrested in Orlando on a charge related to his probation for auto grand theft, said Lake Worth police Chief William Smith.
He was being questioned Tuesday in Orlando, Smith said. The chief would not say if there were other suspects in the deaths of Roman's uncle, his uncle's girlfriend and her three children, including a pregnant woman.
Roman had been missing since the murders. Police had said he might be in danger.
Relatives of the victims said he left a note in the victims' home saying he was moving away and that he was sorry about what happened.
Police found the body of Carmen Valentin, 42, about 4 a.m. Sunday in a roadway in Lake Worth, about 6 miles south of West Palm Beach. There was no identification in her clothing, and police were trying to figure out who she was when the other four bodies were found at the white, wood frame house about 10 p.m.
The other victims were Valentin's three children -- Juan Carlos Valentin, 17, Elizabeth Valentin, 22, and Damaris Valentin, 19, who was eight months pregnant -- and Ismael Gomez, 52, whose body was in a truck behind the home. Gomez, Roman's uncle, lived in the home and was Valentin's boyfriend of eight years, relatives said.
Police have not revealed how the victims were killed.
More than 100 family members and friends gathered outside the house Tuesday evening to sing, pray, hold candles and place flowers and teddy bears in front.
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