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Coral Springs Police Crack 23 Year-Old Cold Case

by Sharon Aron Baron February 24, 2014

by Sharon Aron Baron February 24, 2014 39 views

Ivelisse Berrios Beguerisse

By: Sharon Aron Baron

Thanks to advances in crime technology, along with the perseverance of Coral Springs Police Detectives, a 23-year-old homicide case has been solved.

On November 27, 1990, a call came into the Coral Springs Police Department that there was a young female later identified as Ivelisse Berrios Beguerisse, lying on the side of the street at the 200 block of 122nd Avenue with marks on both wrists and ankles and brown packing tape was found stuck in her hair.

Beguerisse, 20, of Sunrise, had been reported missing on November 26, 1990, by her husband after not returning home from work at the Sawgrass Mills Mall in Sunrise. The victim’s vehicle was found in the Sawgrass Mills Mall’s parking lot, with two of the tires slashed.

The Medical Examiner determined the cause of death to be asphyxia, and the manner was homicide. DNA swabs were obtained from the victim’s body as part of a rape kit. At the time of the incident, the crime lab could not find evidence to connect a suspect to the crime.

In August 2013, Detectives Brian Koenig and Dan Cucchi, of the Coral Springs Police Department, were assigned the cold case homicide of Beguerisse and began meticulously reviewing the case. After looking at all the evidence, they coordinated with the Broward Sheriff’s Office Crime Lab to have the DNA evidence tested again, due to all of the advances in technology.

On February 5, 2014, detectives received notification that they could obtain a positive suspect DNA profile from the evidence submitted. The suspect was identified as Oba Chandler.

Oba Chandler was convicted of killing Joan Rodgers and her two daughters in 1989 in St. Petersberg, Florida. The Rodgers family homicides took place in 1989; however, Chandler was not arrested until 1992 connected with the crime. When Beguerisse was murdered, Chandler was living in Sunrise, Florida, just 1.5 miles from the Sawgrass Mills Mall, where Ivelisse was last seen alive.

In November 2011, Chandler was executed via lethal injection, by the State of Florida, for Rodger’s murders. If not for Chandler’s execution, he would be arrested and charged with the murder of Ivelisse Berrios Beguerisse.

Due to the detectives’ persistent efforts and the assistance of the Broward Sheriff’s Office Crime Lab, the cold case of Ivelisse Berrios Beguerisse was able to be solved.

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Sharon Aron Baron

Editor of Talk Media and writer for Coral Springs Talk. CST was created in 2012 to provide News, Views, and Entertainment for the residents of Coral Springs and the rest of South Florida.