Denis Del Carmen Polo Fuentes, a 57-year-old woman, was in the process of moving on with her life after a recent separation. She and her estranged husband, Franky Paba, had been a couple who, according to family, had their share of arguments like any other. But no one who knew them imagined their relationship would end in a shocking act of violence. About two months before her death, Polo Fuentes had ended her relationship with Paba, telling a neighbor she no longer wanted to be with him.
A relative later described the situation between the former couple as "very bad."
On the afternoon of Wednesday, October 28, 2026, Polo Fuentes went to the apartment she once shared with Paba to retrieve the last of her personal belongings. For safety and support, she brought two relatives with her: her cousin, Maria Espinosa, and her aunt. The apartment was located in a 55+ community in the 17000 block of Northeast 14th Avenue in North Miami Beach, Florida, a typically quiet residential area just a few blocks from North Miami Beach High School. When they arrived, Paba, who was 64, let the three women inside.
Once they were in the apartment, the atmosphere changed drastically. Paba’s behavior became erratic and menacing. According to Espinosa, he suddenly brandished a firearm and made a terrifying declaration: "everyone here is gonna die tonight." As the women faced the armed man, Espinosa began to desperately plead with him. "I was begging for the lives of the three of us, for my life, my cousins, and for my sisters," she later recalled in Spanish. "Pleading with him to let us leave, saying we had our children." Her heartbreaking pleas were not enough to de-escalate the situation. Paba shot Polo Fuentes once in the chest. He then turned the gun on himself, taking his own life.
Deputies with the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office were dispatched to the community after receiving reports of gunshots. Upon entering the apartment, they found Polo Fuentes and Paba, both suffering from fatal gunshot wounds. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel also responded, but nothing could be done. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. The investigation that followed was classified as a murder-suicide.
The violent deaths sent a wave of shock through the peaceful senior community. Neighbors were stunned that such a tragedy could occur in their midst. One resident who knew the couple told reporters that it was a quiet neighborhood. "It's never happened," he said. "People die. But they're old. Old people. They die naturally. I never heard something like that before I've been here 10 years." The community was left to grapple with the sudden and brutal loss of a neighbor.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office handled the investigation, working to piece together the final moments that led to the shooting. Detectives examined the scene and sought to determine if any surveillance video from the area had captured relevant footage. Family members on both sides were interviewed, confirming the couple's recent separation and the tension that preceded the fatal encounter.
With the perpetrator deceased at the scene, the case was considered closed by investigators, leaving a family to mourn the devastating loss of Denis Del Carmen Polo Fuentes. The incident stands as a tragic example of domestic violence, where a woman's attempt to safely leave a relationship ended with her murder. As of late 2026, no public information regarding memorial services or fundraisers for her family has been released. The case is a grim reminder of the dangers that can escalate when a relationship ends, and it left a family and a community in profound grief.
