Man Charged With Killing Girlfriend's Child

MIAMI BEACH, FL — A 27-year-old man was accused Monday of killing his girlfriend's young daughter after the child apparently painted over his photograph. Dennys Llopiz was charged with first-degree murder in connection with the death of the 3-year-old girl. Miami Beach first responders found the child unclothed and suffering from multiple bruses in a studio apartment shortly beore 11 a.m. Friday morning.

"The 3-year-old female was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital where she died. Our detectives have worked on this investigation through the weekend, coordinating our efforts with the Medical Examiner and the State Attorney’s Office," explained Officer Ernesto Rodriguez of the Miami Beach Police Department. "It has been determined the child sustained blunt force trauma which was consistent to being inflicted within a few hours prior to her death."

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According to court documents, first responders found the child in the main living area of the studio apartment that Llopiz shared with the girl and her mother, identified as Maria Lopez. The apartment is located in the 6900 block of Rue Vendome.

Court documents said Llopiz gave first responders conflicting statements as to what happened to the child.

"When emergency units arrived, Defendant Llopiz was asked by MBFR how the child was found unresponsive, Llopiz responded that he had left the child in the shower because the child had deficated on herself," court documents explained. "After several minutes, Llopiz called out to her and the child did not respond to his calls. Llopiz stated he ran into the bathroom and saw the child slouched against the wall of the shower, not breathing. Defendant Llopiz stated he attempted to wake the child and checked for a pulse. Defendant Llopiz called 9-1-1 and followed the instructions of the operator."

The child's father, Jeffrey Hartley in Cutler Bay, told Local 10 News that his daughter, Skylar Harley was full of joy.

"She was just amazing," he said. "There's no words that can explain how great she was. It was just unreal."

Court documents said that Llopiz made several "spontaneous" statements to Miami Beach police in which he said he took the child fishing the night before and she suffered a fall in the 2300 block of Normandy Drive. The child's mother said that neither she or the child had gone fishing with Llopiz on Thursday.

"Maria Lopez told police that on 8/9/2018 she picked up the victim from daycare and returned to the residence," court documents said. "The victim was given a bath by Maria Lopez and at no time did she see any bruising or injuries on the body or head of the victim."

The mother told police that she left her daughter alone with Llopiz when she went to work around 7 a.m. on Friday. A search of Llopiz' phone revealed that he had sent several text messages to the child's mother "in reference to defendant Llopiz being upset with the victim over her painting on a photograph of him."

Photo courtesy Miami-Dade Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation