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In grief, children carry on daily life

After their parents were found dead, the Rodriguez children are getting by with help from school co-workers.

By ABBIE VANSICKLE
Published August 3, 2006

TAMPA - Each day, Luis Rodriguez tidies the home on 24th Avenue.

"My mom always liked the house clean," said Rodriguez, 19.

As he spoke Wednesday, his sentences trailed off, most ending in blank stares as if his thoughts were elsewhere. It was hot and sticky outside, and flies landed near his body as he sat on the front porch. He didn't seem to notice.

Two days earlier, a delivery worker had found the bodies of Rodriguez's parents at Young Middle Magnet, an east Tampa school. Both Ada Rodriguez, 38, and her husband, Alfredo, 54, had gunshot wounds.

In the hours since, the couple's six children, ages 5 to 19, have tried to maintain a sense of normalcy. The oldest daughter, Carmen, a 17-year-old high school senior, cooks the meals. Food arrives from Mrs. Rodriguez's co-workers at school, where she worked in the cafeteria.

But so much remains unresolved.

Police, prosecutors and the Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office have said little about the deaths. Earlier this week, police said they had not ruled out the possibility of a murder-suicide.

Results of autopsies should be available by the end of the week, officials said.

The bodies were found at 6:20 a.m. Monday near a service entrance of the school, located at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard near 22nd Street. Alfredo Rodriguez often drove his wife to work.

Luis Rodriguez got the news of their deaths that morning, when a detective came to the family's rented, two-story 1920s home in east Tampa.

Rodriguez was supposed to have started a new job with a pest control company the next day. Instead, he's spent much of the last three days at home, tending to the dogs that lounge around the porch and yard, caring for his siblings and trying to figure out what happens next.

As he sat talking with a Times reporter Wednesday, a man came up to the chain-link fence surrounding the property. The man called out to Luis Rodriguez, asking if his mother was Ada, the woman who worked at Young Middle Magnet's cafeteria.

The man said had a lot of respect for her and her positive outlook on life. The man gave Luis Rodriguez a hug.

At the same time, a minivan pulled up. A woman rolled down the window, asking Luis Rodriguez if he is Ada Rodriguez's son. He nodded.

She offered him her condolences, asked about funeral arrangements.

He told her nothing had been finalized yet.

She again gave her sympathies and drove away.

The scene has replayed itself over the last few days, he said, returning to the porch.

For now, Mrs. Rodriguez's co-workers, including the principal, an assistant principal and a social worker, have made daily stops at the house, checking on the children, said school spokeswoman Linda Cobbe.

On Tuesday, they went shopping at Publix, which matched the money the school officials spent for groceries.

A crisis team has been in contact with the three different schools the children attend and will be available to counsel them, she said.

"They're all concerned that the children have a support system," she said.

Young Middle Magnet has collected donations from school employees, but they were not able to accept outside donations as of Wednesday, she said. The school was trying to set up a fund for the children, but, so far, nothing had been established, Cobbe said.

"They want to do right by the family but they don't have anybody to do this right now," Cobbe said.

Busch Gardens, where Carmen Rodriguez, 17, is employed, is examining ways to help the family, said park spokesman Gerard Hoeppner.

"Our heart obviously goes out to Ms. Rodriguez and her siblings," he said. "We will look to determine what appropriate measures we can take to show our support."

A social worker is planning to be a Big Sister for 14-year-old Maria, who is entering high school, Cobbe said.

Custody arrangements for the children had not been finalized either, she said.

"Everything's up in the air right now," she said.

Researcher Cathy Wos contributed to this report. Abbie VanSickle can be reached at 813 226-3373 or vansickle@sptimes.com.

[Last modified August 3, 2006, 07:58:43]