Crime scene investigators dusted for fingerprints late into the night at a grisly crime scene inside an apartment at 545 Michigan Avenue in Miami Beach.
The silence coming from Apt. 7 was too much for close friends to bear. They hadn't seen or heard from the person they knew as Rosita since Tuesday. Friends described Rosita as a social butterfly who would always wave hello and stop to chat with them on the street.
Worried for Rosita's safety, they called police on Thursday. The owner of the property let police into the apartment.
"The police department went inside. They opened up the door. As soon as they opened it, they closed it again. There was a [pool] full of blood all over the apartment," said Hector Serna, a close friend of the victim.
The victim was found with multiple stab wounds, Miami Beach Police said.
The police case report lists the victim as a "white male." Friends say Rosita – whose birth name was Rene – identified as a transsexual woman.
"Somebody had the nerve to stab her, cut her neck and put something in her mouth so she wouldn't scream," Serna said.
The report claims a person close to the victim told police Rosita "had multiple partners" and had not been seen since Tuesday afternoon.
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Friends and neighbors describe her as a good person with a big heart.
"I feel very bad. I can't eat. I can't sleep. Because I lived here seven years. Seven years. She's a really good neighbor," said Taslima Akter, who owns the grocery store on the corner.
"It's not fair what they did to her. She was very well-loved around here. I loved her. She was a very good friend of mine, and she doesn’t deserve it," Serna said.
Miami Beach Police have not released the victim's name, as they are trying to alert her next of kin, her elderly parents in Cuba. The investigation continues.
