APOPKA, Fla. — Deputies are searching for the person who killed a man and dumped his body in a ditch in Apopka.
Angel Cruz’s family is pleading for answers.
“He was a good kid. They took my brother away and it’s not fair,” said the victim’s sister, Yaniva Cruz.
A driver found Angel Cruz’s body on Monday on the 4500 block of Golden Gem Road, in an area where people normally dump trash and unwanted items.
On Tuesday, deputies said the 19-year-old’s death is being investigated as a homicide.
Yaniva Cruz said her brother was last seen with his girlfriend Friday night and left to go do an errand, but never came back.
His phone went straight to voicemail.
Investigators showed up at Yaniva Cruz’s home with the news of her brother’s death.
“They positively identified it was my brother and came here to let us know. He was shot and his body was dumped there,” Yaniva Cruz said.
Detectives said Cruz was shot multiple times.
“No one deserves that. No one deserves to be dumped in a ditch. I don’t wish that on nobody,” Yaniva Cruz said.
She’s hoping for a speedy arrest.
Family members said they’ll hope for justice as they plan a funeral for the 19-year-old who was turning his life around after spending three years in prison.
“I don’t know how someone can do that but I don’t have any hate toward nobody. I just want my brother to be laid to rest peacefully,” Yaniva Cruz said.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office is offering a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest.