Suspect arrested after teen found dead with garbage bag over upper body in Hialeah

Police: Willy Yo Betancourt, 26, sent photo, video of victim to another person

(Miami-Dade Corrections & Rehabilitation)

HIALEAH, Fla. – A 26-year-old man has been arrested on a first-degree murder charge after a 19-year-old man was found dead Monday inside of a home in Hialeah where they lived together, authorities confirmed Tuesday.

According to the suspect’s arrest report, police responded to a home in the 400 block of West 53rd Street just before 4:15 p.m. Monday in regards to a man who was found dead inside of the house with a garbage bag covering the upper portion of his body.

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Responding officers found the victim’s body in one of the bedrooms along with two spent casings, authorities said.

The victim was pronounced dead at 4:28 p.m.

According to the arrest report, Willy Yo Betancourt, of Hialeah, was quickly identified as a person of interest in the case.

Police said he was located around 4:40 p.m. in the area of East Second Avenue and 60th Street.

Betancourt was detained and taken to the Hialeah police station, where he admitted to getting into an argument with the victim and claimed the victim armed himself with a knife, authorities said.

Another portion of the recorded interview with detectives was redacted from the publicly released report.

According to the report, detectives later obtained a photo, voice messages and video Betancourt allegedly sent to someone who is known to him.

Police said the photo shows the victim lying on a bed, sleeping, with no visible blood. A video sent to the person, however, shows the victim on the bed, bleeding from the head and lying in the same manner as the picture, authorities confirmed.

“Upon reviewing the voice messages sent, the defendant confessed to shooting the victim,” the arrest report states.

Police said their investigation revealed that the suspect and victim had an argument before Betancourt allegedly shot the victim.


About the Author:

Amanda Batchelor is the Digital Executive Producer for Local10.com.