Loved ones of Cuban music star El Taiger disappointed after arraignment postponed
Family and friends of Cuban music star El Taiger, who was gunned down in early October, left the courtroom disappointed Thursday morning after his accused shooter’s arraignment was postponed for later this month.
Damian Valdez-Galloso, 49, is charged with fatally shooting El Taiger in the head in Hialeah.
He was set to have his arraignment on Thursday morning with a courtroom filled with friends and loved ones of Jose Manuel Carvajal Zaldívar, known as “El Taiger.” Some wearing white shirts with his portrait. They were hoping Valdez-Galloso would be hit with an upgraded charge of first-degree murder.
“I do have a lot of hope that even though this process is taking so long and part of me feels like they are dragging it out, I still won’t stop,” El Taiger’s manager, Teresa Padron, told reporters outside the courtroom in Spanish.
“We will continue to be here, we will continue to support justice for José because that is obviously what he deserves and his family deserves it too,” she said.
Padron told reporters on Thursday that she is getting ready to fly to Cuba to be with El Taiger’s family.
A petition launched by El Taiger’s family and friends calls for his second-degree murder charge to be upgraded to first-degree murder.
“Jose Manuel Carvajal was taken from his family and his 4 children under brutal and premeditated circumstances, yet the current charge of second-degree murder does not fully reflect the severity and intent of this crime,” the petition states.
Padron wrote on social media asking people for support on the petition.
“We need everyone’s support for this,” she wrote on an Instagram story in Spanish. “I ask for unity in god and for Jose.”
The petition has nearly 63,000 signatures. Prosecutors would need to prove that the murder was premeditated for the charge to be upgraded.
“It was not an animal whose life was taken, it was a father, a human and no one deserves to die, especially this way,” El Taiger’s longtime friend Jeffrey Jarquin told reporters in Spanish. “We will not stop demanding justice.”
Arrested in New York City
Miami police reported that Zaldívar, 37, a singer with over a million Instagram followers and more than 385 million YouTube views, was found shot in a car in Miami on Oct. 3. After a month-long investigation, detectives determined that Valdez-Galloso was the alleged shooter, Morales said.
On Oct. 29 Valdez-Galloso was arrested in Brooklyn by federal marshals on an out-of-state warrant for failing to register as a sex offender, according to Miami Police Chief Manuel Morales.
Police identified Valdez-Galloso as a convicted felon, previously convicted of sexual battery on a minor in 2013.
READ MORE: Man accused of shooting Cuban singer ‘El Taiger’ in Miami jail after fleeing to New York
He is currently charged with second-degree murder, tampering with evidence, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
The accused killer could still face an upgraded charge of first murder pending a grand jury indictment, but the grand jury is out for the week on their winter holiday.
His arraignment has been re-set for Jan 29.
Caught on camera
Surveillance footage from the incident shows Zaldívar standing in front of house in Hialeah when Valdez-Galloso suddenly opened the door and shot him in the head. Valdez-Galloso then exited the house through a side door, dragged Zaldívar by the ankles, and placed him in a 2023 Mercedes-Benz, police said.
According to investigators, Valdez-Galloso cleaned the crime scene and changed clothes while Zaldívar lay bleeding in the car. Around 6 a.m., he drove Zaldívar to the area of Northwest Ninth Avenue and Northwest 17th Street.
First responders arrived about 45 minutes later and rushed Zaldívar to Jackson Memorial Hospital, where he died on Oct. 10.
This story was originally published December 19, 2024 at 11:51 AM.