Woman killed husband in Hallandale Beach murder-suicide, cops say. Couple had Balkan roots

A woman shot and killed her husband before taking her own life in a Hallandale Beach murder-suicide Wednesday in a criminal mystery that has roots in the Balkans, according to police.

At about 12:30 a.m. Hallandale Beach Police arrived at 1830 South Ocean Dr., a high-rise oceanfront condo, after receiving multiple alerts from ShotSpotter, a gunshot detection system.

There, they found 34-year-old Pajtim Krasniqi and 27-year-old Sabrina Krasniqi, a couple with roots in Albania and Kosovo on the Balkan Peninsula, both dead from apparent gunshot wounds.

“Advising that both people are down on the balcony,” a dispatcher could be heard saying over Broadcastify, a police scanner, on Wednesday. “Female on her back, one male on his face on the balcony.”

The couple lived in unit 4508, according to the Broadcastify audio transmission.

Police say Sabrina shot her husband multiple times before turning the gun on herself. Authorities did not release any more details.

Pajtim’s sister called it a vicious and senseless murder in a Facebook post.

“My Thanksgiving Eve wasn’t spent with my husband and children. It wasn’t spent with friends. It was spent with police officers, detectives and news reports talking about the vicious and senseless murder of my youngest brother by his wife,” wrote Albana Krasniqi Munrett on Facebook.

Marina Dedivanovic wrote on Facebook she knew Pajtim and regarded him as a caring man.

“I knew your brother,” she wrote. “Met him once in 2016. Then saw he moved into the beach club, and we would run into him always at the gym and pool. He was truly the sweetest, most gentle soul, and my husband and I are in complete shock over this. I pray for you and your family to find peace at some point.”

Hallandale Beach police said in a statement Friday, “The HBPD extends its deepest condolences to the family and loved ones impacted by this heartbreaking event.”

Miami Herald staff writer David Goodhue contributed to this report.

This story was originally published November 29, 2024 at 1:51 PM.