Doral real estate agent killed daughters and their mother then himself: MDSO
.jpg "Melanie Hyer and Ryan Whiten in a September 2015 Facebook post.")
A Doral real estate agent fatally stabbed his two daughters, their mother and then himself this week, the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said.
Doral police officers conducted a welfare check at a home in the gated Doral Isles neighborhood around 7:30 p.m. Tuesday and found the bodies of 42-year-old Ryan Charles Whiten; Melanie Lauren Hyer, 46; and their daughters, 11-year-old Savannah Whiten and 8-year-old Sienna Whiten.
They all had knife wounds, according to the sheriff’s office, which took over the investigation from Doral police.
“The investigation revealed that Mr. Whiten committed these heinous acts and then took his own life,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement Thursday afternoon.
The murder-suicide shocked the Doral community. Both Hyer and Whiten were well-known real estate professionals, and Hyer was an acquaintance of Doral Mayor Christi Fraga, who released a statement on social media about her.
“As a mother, and as someone who personally knew and admired the loving and dedicated mother at the center of this tragedy, this loss feels especially close to home,” Fraga wrote. “This tragedy is also a painful reminder that we must continue having honest conversations about mental health, domestic violence, emotional wellness, and the importance of speaking up when something feels wrong.”
The girls attended Downtown Doral Charter School, whose principal, Jeannette Acevedo-Isenberg, sent an email to the Miami Herald saying: “Our community is mourning the loss of two of our beloved students. Our heartfelt sympathies are with their families, friends, faculty and staff at our schools. These students will be deeply missed.”
Whiten and Hyer were the biological parents of the girls. Property records show the couple lived at the 11149 NW 72nd Terrace home where police found the bodies, but county court records show both were recently married and divorced from other people.
The Miami Herald reached out to Hyer’s ex-husband, whom she divorced in March, but he declined to comment. The Herald reached out to Whiten’s ex-wife, but she did not respond. The couple divorced in June 2024, according to Miami-Dade court records.
Friends took to social media this week to comment on the tragedy.
The last time Kathrin Rein saw Hyer, Sienna and Savannah was during a Memorial Day boat trip, she wrote on Facebook.
“Melanie, my sweet friend, I’m at a loss for words,” wrote Rein, who also works in real estate. “Thank you for all the love, laughter, and beautiful lessons you shared with me. I will carry them with me always and will never forget you.”
In another Facebook post, Rein said she woke up Thursday morning hoping the murder-suicide had been a bad dream. She also recalled telling her friend on Saturday how much she admired her positivity despite everything she was going through. Rein wrote that the two had planned to spend the summer in Chicago and celebrate Christmas at her home.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
