PINE HILLS, Fla. — Orange County deputies are still searching for the killer of a mother and her daughter.
Maria Sanchez, 36, and Destiny Banuelos, 16, were found in their Pine Hills home shot to death Monday.
Jerry Ledbetter, the enstranged husband of Sanchez, came to central Florida from Oregon to claim the bodies of Sanchez and Banuelos. He said he and his four other children had hoped they'd one day be reunited.
"There was hopes between the kids and me that the family would get back together, but we don't have that option now," Ledbetter said. "(Sanchez) was an outgoing person, easy to make friends. She was a good mom. Destiny picked up some of that character and was easy to make friends too."
Officials said they had been living at the Coalition for the Homeless and Banuelos was involved with the Boys and Girls Club of Central Florida.
“Very sweet young lady who, not this past December, but the December before, came and sang at our board meeting. I met her a couple of other times and I know she aspired to be an attorney,” Gary Cain, president and CEO of the Boys and Girls Club of central Florida, said.
Banuelos friend’s said they will miss her terribly, including her sneeze that they said was unique.
"No matter what she went through she always kept a smile on her face. (I) don't want to cry right now," Banuelos' friend Takeyla Mahan said.
Neighbors said Sanchez and Banuelos moved into Glenn Sylvester’s home recently.
Investigators said he had neighbors call 911 after collapsing and telling them he had found their bodies.
Detectives have not named any suspects, but have not ruled anyone out.
Ledbetter said the bodies will be taken to Oregon because the family can't come to Florida to grieve.
Cox Media Group
