Man charged with killing five family members

The man said he thought at least one family member had molested his young daughter, police say.

©Associated Press
September 26, 2002

LAKE WORTH -- A man confessed to killing five family members because he believed at least one of them molested his young daughter, police said.

Michael Millan Roman, 29, who lived with the five victims found shot and stabbed to death last weekend, was charged Wednesday with first-degree murder.

Lake Worth police Chief William Smith said Roman told police details of the slayings that only the killer would have known while being questioned Tuesday after an arrest in Orlando.

Roman was caught after a two-day search on a charge related to his probation for auto grand theft, authorities said.

The search for Roman began after police discovered the bodies of his uncle, his uncle's girlfriend and her three grown children, including a pregnant woman, on Sunday. They initially said Roman was not a suspect and could be in danger. Relatives found a note inside the home from Roman, saying he was moving and that he loved the family, Smith said.

Roman told police he believed some of the people who were killed were responsible for molesting his 11/2-year-old daughter, who lived in the Lake Worth home with him, his girlfriend and the five family members, Smith said. Roman's girlfriend and children moved to the Orlando area shortly before the slayings.

Smith said no one filed a complaint with police or the state Department of Children and Families about Roman's accusations, and no evidence existed to support the claims.

In a jailhouse interview with an Orlando TV station, Roman said he suspected his uncle and cousin of the sexual abuse and confronted the two Saturday night.

"I don't feel for what I did," Roman said to WKMG Ch. 6. "I did something these people deserved. I started talking one by one and when my uncle admitted it, I shot him in the head," Roman said.

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. Police originally thought she was the victim of a hit-run accident.

Later, they saw her photo in the white, wood frame house where four other bodies were found about 10 p.m. Sunday.

The other victims included Valentin's three children -- Juan Carlos Valentin, 17, Elizabeth Valentin, 22, and Damaris Valentin, 19, who was eight months pregnant. The fifth victim, Ismael Gomez, 52, was discovered inside a white pickup truck behind the home and beneath a tarp.

Police said Roman admitted to stealing a gun from a home in Orlando and driving to Lake Worth to commit the killings.

After hearing media reports about the slayings, a brother of Roman's girlfriend called police and said Roman had admitted to the slayings.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright