MIAMI _ The likelihood of finding missing baby Andrew Caballeiro alive grew weaker Thursday as his family members spoke publicly for the first time, revealing a growing rift that may have enraged the infant's father, Ernesto Caballeiro _ who police say murdered Andrew's mother, grandmother and great-grandmother in a home in the Redland community before abducting the child and killing himself in Pasco County.
While a desperate search for the baby continued, a potential promising lead did not appear to pan out.
On Thursday, the Pasco County Sheriff's Office said an unidentified woman reported spotted near Caballeiro's abandoned van likely had nothing to do with the case. A spokeswoman said the timeline suggested that the woman, if she was at the scene, was there several hours after Caballeiro, 49, had shot himself in the woods with what police believe was the same high-powered rifle he used in the Miami-Dade slayings.
"He was likely deceased by the time that woman was seen near the van," said lead Pasco County Sheriff's spokeswoman Amanda Hunter. "Given the timeline, we don't believe her to be involved."
The victims were identified as Arlety Garcia-Valdes, 40, Andrew's mother; his grandmother Isabela Valdes, 60; and his great-grandmother Lina Gonzalez, 84. Supporters of the slain women have begun fundraising for funeral costs. By Thursday evening, a GoFundMe page had raised more than $14,500.
"Three generations of brave women were slain protecting the newborn's life," the page said. "Please pray with us for the safe return of baby Andrew."
Despite the grim outlook, family members of Andrew said they still held out hope that the young boy was still alive.
"I have the hope that he (Caballeiro) handed him to someone," said Andrew's great-aunt Reina Valdes. "I have the hope that the baby is alive."
Reina Valdes said that Caballeiro and Andrew's mother had been separated, but the father stuck around offering support during her pregnancy.
"They did not have a pretty relationship," said the child's great-aunt. "They were separated and my niece did not want to continue in that relationship. That's the only thing I can tell you."
Humberto Valdes Gonzalez, Andrew's great-uncle who lives in Cienfuegos, Cuba, told el Nuevo Herald that Andrew's mother told him there appeared to be "friction" in the relationship, but, "I don't know anything else."
By Thursday police, still had not offered a motive for the killings.
Little Andrew, born just last week, became the target of a massive statewide manhunt Tuesday after police discovered the three women at Caballeiro's home northwest of Homestead. Police suspect Caballeiro shot them with a high-powered rifle, then fled north toward Pasco with Andrew.
Miami-Dade police were led to the home on Southwest 187th Avenue after the brother of Andrew's mother called police because he had been unable to reach his sister.
Detectives knew almost immediately that Caballeiro was the killer, according to law enforcement sources, because surveillance video showed him arriving home just after 10 a.m. Tuesday, then leaving about an hour later. And the footage appeared to show him holding his AR-15 rifle and the newborn child.
Pasco deputies determined that the white van _ the subject of a statewide Amber Alert _ was parked on the side of a rural road in the town of Blanton between 3 p.m. and 5 p.m. Tuesday. After discovering the vehicle Wednesday, deputies scouring the wooded area with bloodhounds spotted Caballeiro's body in the woods about 50 yards from the van. He died of a self-inflicted shotgun wound.
An AR-15 was next to his body, sources say.
Inside the van, Hunter said, deputies found some cash, old receipts and a pacifier. There was no child's car seat and no sign of any digging tool, like a shovel, Hunter said. Holding out hope that the pacifier belonged to Andrew, deputies directed a bloodhound to the object to try to pick up a scent. None was found, leaving Pasco deputies to believe that Andrew likely didn't make it to Pasco with his father.
"There was no indication the baby was in Pasco," Hunter said.
