Miami Lakes

‘It Can't Be': Mom of Man Who Killed Son, Daughter in Murder-Suicide Speaks

Woman says son who killed his two children and himself was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at a young age

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What to Know

  • A man fatally shot his 12-year-old daughter and 9-year-old son before turning the gun on himself in a Miami Lakes neighborhood Tuesday night
  • The man was later identified as Humberto Christian Tovar, and his children were identified as Baleria and Matias Tovar
  • Tovar's mother, Luz Kutnitz, said she had spoken with them on the phone not long before the shooting

The mother of a man who fatally shot his young son and daughter before turning the gun on himself in Miami Lakes said he'd battled mental illness since he was a child but never thought he'd kill his own children.

Luz Kutnitz said she saw reports of the Tuesday night shooting on the news and knew something wasn't right with her family.

"I got a little bit worried you know, thinking, it can’t be, he promised me he would never hurt the children," Kutnitz said.

Police said it was around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday that her son, 41-year-old Humberto Christian Tovar, shot and killed his 12-year-old daughter, Baleria, and 9-year-old son, Matias, before turning the gun on himself in what they said was a domestic dispute.

NBC 6
Luz Kutnitz holds up a photo of her son, Humberto Cristian Tovar.

Kutnitz said she knew when police arrived at her home Wednesday morning what they were going to tell her.

"I say 'Christian committed suicide?' They said 'yes,'" Kutnitz said. "He is with God now."

Kutnitz said she'd spoken with Tovar and her grandchildren on the phone minutes before the tragedy.

"He said 'do you want to say hello to the children?' I said 'sure!' So I said 'hello.' They call me Boobaloo. 'Hello Boobaloo!'" she said. "'How is everything? How is school?' They they were fine."

Kutnitz said the only thing she has to remember her two grandchildren are photos. She described them as bright and creative.

"Very sweet, very cute," she said. "We shared so much. For me right now it’s like I have a beautiful dream and I just woke up from the dream."

Kutnitz said her son was disgnosed with bipolar disorder at a young age and it never got better.

Tovar was Baker Acted twice, and she tried all she could to help him but he didn't want it, Kutnitz said.

"The first time he tried to commit suicide he was nine," she said. “People don’t understand that mental diseases are real and mental diseases are not your fault."


If you are in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-8255 or reach out to the Crisis Text Line by texting "Home" to 741741.

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