Man accused of killing his ex-girlfriend shortly after she reported him to police
A woman went to the Boynton Beach Police Department on Wednesday morning to report that her ex-boyfriend was harassing her. Within the hour, she was dead.
Robens Cesar, 41, is accused of shooting his ex-girlfriend Fridelene Daniel, 34, shortly before 9 a.m. in the parking lot of her apartment complex, according to a probable cause affidavit. He admitted to the shooting, telling police that he couldn’t bear seeing her with another man and that the “final straw” was her reporting him to police earlier that morning.
Cesar and Daniel were both at the police department shortly after 8 a.m., according to the affidavit. Boynton Beach Police did not release additional details about what happened while they were there.
Officers were called to the 600 block of Meadows Circle shortly before about 8:55 a.m. about the shooting. A black Honda was seen leaving the area, and surveillance video in the area of the apartment showed a man leaving the area in the Honda wearing the same clothes Cesar was wearing at the police department, the affidavit said.
Cesar was found at an address in the 100 block of Northwest 14th Avenue that he frequents, the affidavit said, and arrested there. In an interview with officers at the police department, he said and Daniel had broken up and he had been trying to convince her to be in a relationship with him again, but she refused. A full confession was recorded on an officer’s body-worn camera.
Boynton Beach Police said in a news release Thursday they have launched an internal affairs investigation to determine whether the officer who interacted with Cesar and Daniel at the police department prior to the shooting followed procedure. The officer is on administrative leave.
“The loss of any life is a tragic event, and the Boynton Beach Police Department extends its deepest condolences to the family and loved ones of the deceased,” the release said. “Our hearts go out to all affected by this unfortunate incident.”
As of Thursday evening, Cesar was held in the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office Main Detention Center on one count of first-degree murder.