Outrage that no charges have been filed after death of mother of suspected MS-13 victim

Community members in Brentwood, New York on Long Island are outraged that police have not yet publicly named a suspect in the death of Evelyn Rodriguez, 50 (pictured) who was fatally hit by a vehicle on September 14 while preparing for a candlelight vigil near where the body of her daughter, Kayla Cuevas, 16, was found, two years ago to the day

Community members in Brentwood, New York on Long Island are outraged that police have not yet publicly named a suspect in the death of Evelyn Rodriguez, 50.

Rodriguez was struck by a vehicle and killed on September 14 in the cul-de-sac near where her daughter’s dead body was found, two years ago to the day.

Her daughter, Kayla Cuevas, 16, and her best friend, Nisa Mickens, 15, were found in the wooded area behind one of the homes in the circle in 2016.

The teens were beaten by baseball bats and hacked to death with machetes, allegedly by members of the notoriously violent MS-13 gang.

Rodriguez was arranging a candlelight vigil for Cuevas with her husband, Freddy Cuevas, when an argument broke out with the unidentified driver over the vigil, and Rodriguez was mowed own.

The fight allegedly started after the driver removed items from the vigil being put together for Cuevas, blaming the constant tributes for her inability to sell her home.

The case remains under investigation at this time, the Suffolk County Police Department told DailyMail.com.

No arrests have been announced in the case. 

 

The bodies of Cuevas, and her best friends, Nisa Mickens, 15 (left), were found beaten by baseball bats and hacked to death with machetes, allegedly by members of the notoriously violent MS-13 gang in 2016

The bodies of Cuevas (pictured) and her best friends, Nisa Mickens, 15, were found beaten by baseball bats and hacked to death with machetes, allegedly by members of the notoriously violent MS-13 gang in 2016

The bodies of Cuevas (right) and her best friends, Nisa Mickens, 15 (left), were found beaten by baseball bats and hacked to death with machetes, allegedly by members of the notoriously violent MS-13 gang in 2016 

‘Why hasn’t the culprit of this heinous crime been charged?’ Debbie Fuentes asked at a gathering in the community. ‘Why hasn’t her name been released?’

The driver of the vehicle that hit Rodriguez was thought to be a relative of someone who lived in a home on the block, police said. 

Her husband, Freddy Cuevas, who witnessed her death, said:

‘After still trying to put the pieces together over my daughter, and now her… I love her, I miss her, she was my true warrior. She was my rock, she was my shield, she was everything. She was my life.’

Rodriguez's husband, Freddy Cuevas (shown), who witnessed her death, said, 'She was my life'

Rodriguez’s husband, Freddy Cuevas (shown), who witnessed her death, said, ‘She was my life’

Community members called for justice for Rodriguez, asking why no arrest has been made

Community members called for justice for Rodriguez, asking why no arrest has been made

Rodriguez was laid to rest a few days later, after her death came on the two-year-anniversary of the her daughter's body being found on September 14, 2016

Rodriguez was laid to rest a few days later, after her death came on the two-year-anniversary of the her daughter’s body being found on September 14, 2016

Rodriguez was laid to rest a few days later, after her death came on the two-year-anniversary of the her daughter’s body being found.

Mickens’ body was found on September 13, 2016, one day earlier than that of Cuevas, which would have been Mickens’ sixteenth birthday.

The two lifelong best friends, who both attended Brentwood High School, are believed to have been spotted while walking in the area, as MS-13 gang members were searching for another person they had planned to murder, according to US Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Robert Capers.

The gang members allegedly recognized Cuevas from a previous altercation with MS-13, and called their ‘leader’ to get approval to kill her and Mickens, Capers said.  

Their bodies were found within six weeks of the bodies three more murdered Brentwood High School students, all within the same neighborhood, and all suspected to be victims of MS-13 gang members, NBC reported.

Rodriguez and the woman who was driving the SUV that struck her (shown here from the back) were allegedly arguing about the continuous presence of vigils in the cul-de-sac, which the woman allegedly said were preventing her from selling her home

Rodriguez and the woman who was driving the SUV that struck her (shown here from the back) were allegedly arguing about the continuous presence of vigils in the cul-de-sac, which the woman allegedly said were preventing her from selling her home

The driver of the vehicle that hit Rodriguez was thought to be a relative of someone who lived in a home on the circle where Cuevas' body was found, police said; The home adjacent to the wooded area where she was found is shown here, circled in red

The driver of the vehicle that hit Rodriguez was thought to be a relative of someone who lived in a home on the circle where Cuevas’ body was found, police said; The home adjacent to the wooded area where she was found is shown here, circled in red

The story of the young women’s brutal killings gained national attention in 2017, when President Donald Trump gave a speech from Long Island addressing the horrific actions that have been attributed to the MS-13 gang.

‘[Gang members] have transformed peaceful parks and beautiful, quiet neighborhoods into blood-stained killing fields,’ Trump said at the time.

Rodriguez later joined him at his 2018 State of the Union address, and the two sat beside each other at an immigration roundtable in Long Island in May. 

Rodriguez and the woman who was driving the SUV that struck here were allegedly arguing about the continuous presence of vigils in the cul-de-sac. 

The woman allegedly said the tributes were preventing her from selling her home. 

The story of the brutal killings gained national attention in 2017, when President Trump gave a speech from Long Island addressing the killings that have been attributed to the MS-13 gang, and later invited grieving mother Rodriguez (pictured) to join him at the State of the Union

The story of the brutal killings gained national attention in 2017, when President Trump gave a speech from Long Island addressing the killings that have been attributed to the MS-13 gang, and later invited grieving mother Rodriguez (pictured) to join him at the State of the Union

The property located at 6 Ray Court (pictured) in the cul-de-sac is adjacent to the wooded area where the teen girls' bodies were found

The property located at 6 Ray Court (pictured) in the cul-de-sac is adjacent to the wooded area where the teen girls’ bodies were found

The attention around the murders of Cuevas and Mickens may have affected the sale of at least one home on the block, located at 6 Ray Court, before the current owners decided to buy it.

That property is adjacent to the wooded area where the teen girls’ bodies were found. 

It was first listed in February for $377,000, the New York Post reported.

It was relisted at the beginning of April for $359,000 with the price cut to $349,000 just five days later, on April 29, according to Redfin.

Two more price drops at the beginning and end of June brought it down to first $339,000 and then $329,000. 

Today’s owners bought the four-bedroom, two-bathroom ranch for $320,000, with a sale that closed on Friday.

Those owners, however, said they didn’t know the home was adjacent to the wooded area where the dead bodies of Cuevas and Mickens were found. 

Ten members of MS-13, including one who had already been deported at the time, were indicted on March 2 for the murders of Cuevas and Mickens, as well as the death of fellow gang member Jose Pena, 18, who was allegedly executed for violating their rules.

‘The brutal murders of Nisa Mickens and Kayla Cuevas, and the savage killing of Jose Pena, allegedly committed by these defendants, exemplify the depravity of a gang whose primary mission is murder,’ Capers said. 

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk