Police Make Arrest in Lauderdale Lakes Triple Homicide

Suspect is father of unharmed 11-month-old who was at the scene.

Police confirm that they have made an arrest in connection with the Jan. 14 triple murder in Lauderdale Lakes that included a 6-month-old child.

Lineten Belizaire was taken into custody Sunday morning at around 2:25 a.m. and faces three counts of first-degree murder.

He has been charged with the murder of 6-month-old Carlton Stringer, Jr.,  his 25-year-old mother, Natasha Plummer, and 21-year-old roommate Octavia Barnett. They were found dead in an apartment at 2750 Somerset Drive.

Police said Barnett's last Facebook post about Belizaire standing outside her door shortly before the bodies were discovered was the best lead in the case.

"Thankfully she did that because that one post on Facebook could be the thing that brings justice to this case," Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti said at a press conference Monday.

Belizaire, 20, appeared in a Miami-Dade County court on Monday morning and was then set to be transferred to Broward.

According to a statement released by Broward Sheriff’s Office, detectives were looking for Belizaire in Fort Myers when they learned he may be in Miami. Miami-Dade Police were able to take Belizaire into custody as he was returning to his girlfriend’s house on the 1800 block of NW 94th Street in Miami.

Barnett and Belizaire have an 11-month-old child who was at the scene but not injured.

That child is currently in protective custody while the Department of Children and Families tries to determine what relative should care for the child.

Neighbors in the apartment complex told NBC Miami they heard multiple gunshots in the victim’s apartment on the day of the murders.

Police also said Carlton Stringer, Sr. went to the apartment to check on the women and as soon as he stepped in he realized something was wrong. He called police soon after and they made the grisly discovery.

Lamberti said that when police got into the Somerset Drive apartment, "they found a crime scene that even the most veteran detectives would have a tough time dealing with."

The motive for the killings remains a mystery, but police said prior incidents of domestic violence between Belizaire and Barnett were reported.

“This is a message we’ve been trying to send to women: you are not alone, it’s not your fault, it should never, ever deteriorate to the point that a 6-month-old’s life is taken away,” Lamberti said.

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