A family is grieving after a mother and her 4-year-old son were killed in a murder-suicide outside a Chase bank in West Kendall.
“Never in a million years would I expect something like this to happen,” Michael Trujillo said.
Trujillo said her sister, Odalys Bancroft, 43, was caring and empathetic.
Bancroft was director of regulatory affairs for Jackson Health System. She joined the hospital system in 2015, beginning her career as a clinical nurse, and eventually held leadership positions at Holtz Children’s Hospital.
“I just couldn’t imagine a situation that would cause a normal person to do that kind of thing to a woman and her child,” Trujillo said.
Her son, Theodore Couto, 4, was known as Teddy and recently graduated from PreK-4. He would have been five years old next month.
“Wherever he was, it was always a happier place with him,” Trujillo said.
According to Miami-Dade police, Bancroft was in a minivan with her son when she stopped at the bank’s ATM and was waiting in line. A man in an SUV pulled up alongside her and opened fire, killing her and the boy.
Police said the shooter then killed himself.
Video of the incident, obtained by NBC6, was filmed by a witness at a Chase bank in the area of Bird Road and 152nd Avenue. NBC6 paused the video before the shooting.
Family members told NBC6 the shooter was Bancroft’s ex-boyfriend, but police have not yet confirmed the shooter’s identity.
“There were some concerns about him, but nothing like this,” Trujillo said. “They were going through a breakup, but no sign that I was aware that there was such fear.”
Teddy’s father was at the scene Friday, frantic, as police tried to console him. NBC6 has reached out to Teddy’s father and his family and they do not want to comment at this time.
A GoFundMe page has been created to support the family of Odalys and Théodore.