Miami

Miami Beach Man Arrested in Beating Death of Girlfriend's 3-Year-Old Daughter

Dennys Llopiz facing a first-degree murder charge, police say

A Miami Beach man has been arrested on a first-degree murder charge after his girlfriend's 3-year-old daughter was brutally beat to death, police said.

Dennys Llopiz, 27, was arrested early Monday in the killing of the young girl, according to a Miami Beach Police arrest report.

The girl's mother told NBC 6 her name is Skylar and she was set to turn four later this month.

"I thought I was preparing a birthday not a funeral," a tearful Maria Lopez said. "She didn't deserve this."

According to the report, officers responded to Llopiz's home at 6921 Rue Vendome on Friday after he called 911 to report that the girl was unresponsive.

When officers arrived they found the child nude and the apartment in disarray with items tossed around, the report said.

Llopiz told officers he left the girl in the shower because she had defecated on herself and after several minutes he called out to her but she didn't respond, the report said. He said he ran to the bathroom and found her slouched against a wall in the shower, the report said.

Llopiz also told officers he should have taken the girl to the hospital the day before after she suffered a fall, the report said. Llopiz said they had gone fishing and the girl fell on some rocks, causing abrasions and a small injury to her head, according to the report.

The girl was taken to Mt. Sinai Medical Center where she was pronounced dead. Detectives found bruising throughout her body including on her torso, legs and buttocks, the report said.

The Miami-Dade medical examiner's office also found bruising on the girl's head and face and discovered she had a large laceration to her liver, three fractured ribs and ruptured air sacks in her lungs, the report said. The medical examiner determined the child had suffered blunt force trauma a few hours before her death, the report said.

The girl's mother, who is Llopiz's girlfriend, denied that they had gone fishing or that the girl had fallen on some rocks, the report said. She told officers she had left for work that morning and left her daughter with Llopiz at their home.

When detectives looked at his phone they found several text messages Llopiz sent to the mother about him being upset with the girl over her painting on a photograph of him, the report said.

Llopiz was booked into jail Monday morning and was ordered held without bond at a hearing Tuesday morning. Attorney information wasn't available.

Officials with the Florida Department of Children and Families said Tuesday that they've opened a child death investigation. They said there was one prior investigation involving Skylar and her mother that was closed in 2017 with "no indicators."

Jeffrey Hartley, the girl's father, remembered his daughter as a "happy, playful" child.

"I really hope he rots in prison for the rest of his life ... if he makes it that long," he told NBC 6. 

GoFundMe page was set up to help with Skylar's funeral expenses.

Llopiz was arrested last week in the Florida Keys for poaching lobster with a speargun, records showed. He was charged with possession of nine out-of-season lobster, possession of seven undersized lobster, possession of eight speared lobster, spearfishing within 300 feet of a bridge and having no measuring device.

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