Miami Lakes Double Murder: Man Arrested Trying To Board Flight

MIAMI LAKES, FL — A 27-year-old Coconut Creek man, who was waiting to board a flight from Miami to Brazil, was taken into custody Thursday night at Miami International Airport in connection with the double murder of his ex-girlfriend and another man in Miami Lakes earlier in the day. Thales Ferreira of the 3400 block of West Hillsboro Boulevard was charged with first-degree murder, according to Miami-Dade police.

The victims have been identified as 26-year-old Michael Tarulli, who lived in the Miami Lakes Town Center apartment where the murders took place Thursday morning, and 32-year-old Jenny Koonoolai-Jagdeo of the 14oo block of SW 45 Way in Deerfield Beach.

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Miami-Dade police said an officer visited the Miami Lakes apartment around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday, hours before a witness reported hearing as many as 10 gunshots shortly after 7:30 a.m. the following morning.

At that time, Koonoolai-Jagdeo told police that Ferreira had been stalking her and that a suspicious person had been banging on the apartment door.

Arrest documents said Ferreira allegedly stole a .40 caliber Smith & Wesson handgun from a Broward County apartment when he asked to use the bathroom. Police recovered nine .40 caliber shell castings from the murder scene.

Ferreira allegedly acknowledged taking the gun when he returned to his apartment around 9:30 a.m. Thursday.

"The defendant returned to his residence in a black Nissan Rogue SUV and told the witness that he had taken his firearm and did something bad," arrest documents said. "The witness asked the defendant if he had killed someone, and he replied, Yes, I killed someone."

Ferreira then allegedly fled in the SUV, which had been spotted by surveillance cameras outside the Miami Lakes murder scene, according to arrest documents.

Tarulli and Koonoolai-Jagdeo were found shot to death early Thursday morning in an area that has a number of popular shops and restaurants in Miami Lakes. The bodies were found in the 6800 block of Main Street around 8:15 a.m.

Detective Chris Thomas of the Miami-Dade Police Department told Patch earlier that Tarulli was found outside his second-floor Town Center apartment, while Koonoolai-Jagdeo was found inside the apartment. Both were pronounced dead by Miami-Dade Fire Rescue on the scene.

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"Uniform patrol officers responded to a call from a neighbor that said they heard gunshots, and they found a male in front of the apartment unconscious and bleeding," Thomas said on Thursday. "Once they got there, they discovered the male unconscious and bleeding, suffering from an apparent gunshot wound."

He said officers entered the apartment and found Koonoolai-Jagdeo, who had also been shot.

"They went inside the apartment to conduct a cursory investigative search, and they found a female inside suffering also from an apparent gunshot," Thomas said, adding that he did not know the relationship between Koonoolai-Jagdeo and Tarulli or whether the woman was living at the apartment.

The report of gunshots came as people were starting their day in an otherwise quiet, tree-lined neighborhood.

"The businesses weren't open yet, but people were getting up and slowly getting themselves together, going to their daily commute," Thomas added. "They actually saw the male outside the apartment unconscious and bleeding."

To report a tip, call Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS or call 9-1-1.

Photo of Thales Ferreira courtesy Miami-Dade Police Department