Mother tells Miami-Dade judge she wants to see son’s Hialeah girlfriend pay for murder

Woman accused of killing boyfriend appears in court

MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, Fla. – As a 23-year-old woman accused of fatally shooting a 28-year-old man appeared in front of Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy S. Glazer on Tuesday, a mother was sobbing in the courtroom.

Karina Vanessa Corbalan was wearing a bulky safety smock. Prisoners who are on suicide watch usually wear the sleeveless nylon garment. She fatally shot her boyfriend Alejandro Sanchez, police said.

Alejandro Sanchez was fatally shot on Monday in Hialeah. (Courtesy of the Sanchez family)

“I want to see her pay for what she did to my family,” the victim’s mother told Glazer through tears, as she held a white rosary.

Mother tells Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Mindy S. Glazer she wants to see her son's alleged killer pay. (Local 10 News)

On Monday, officers reported finding Corbalan kneeling over Sanchez. They were in the parking lot of a home at 5680 W. 21st St., according to Sgt. Ibel Perez, a spokesman for the Hialeah Police Department.

Police officers seized a firearm in a Monday murder in Hialeah. (SKY 10)

At the crime scene, there was a parked black car with a shattered windshield and a firearm. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue personnel airlifted Sanchez to Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center where doctors pronounced him dead.

Neighbors said Sanchez and Corbalan had a very troubled relationship.

Tuesday night, Sanchez’s family lit candles in his memory, a simple gesture to remember the man they called Coco.

“My son, my Coco, is gone, and I’ll never seen him again,” said Amy Sanchez, Alejandro’s mother.

Dozens of friends and family showed up for an emotional night of remembrance at the very same spot he was killed a day before.

“She shot by the back like 15 times, three of them hit him, and I want her to pay for that,” Sanchez said. “I want to be involved in everything because I want to see her pay for what she did to my family.”

Local 10 has learned that Corbalan and the victim were no longer dating.

“I think she’s a sick person,” said Sanchez. “And she needs to pay for that.”

Man airlifted to hospital after Hialeah shooting

Court records show Corbalan had a violent history. She was arrested last year for battery on a law enforcement officer and for resisting an officer with violence. The case was closed after she completed a pre-trial diversion program.

Karina Vanessa Corbalan (Department of Corrections)

Officers detained Corbalan on Monday and she was booked at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center about 1:50 a.m. on Tuesday.

Heart-broken mother to judge: 'I want to see her pay for what she did to my family'

Corbalan is being held without bond and she is facing a charge of second-degree murder with a weapon.


About the Authors:

In January 2017, Hatzel Vela became the first local television journalist in the country to move to Cuba and cover the island from the inside. During his time living and working in Cuba, he covered some of the most significant stories in a post-Fidel Castro Cuba. 

The Emmy Award-winning journalist joined the Local 10 News team in 2013. She wrote for the Miami Herald for more than 9 years and won a Green Eyeshade Award.