‘Wound that will never heal.’ Family of slain Doral real estate agent speaks out
The family members of South Florida Realtor Melanie Hyer and her two young daughters say they are shattered after the three were killed in their Doral home at the hands of the children’s father.
On Tuesday, Hyer and her daughters, Savannah Whiten, 11, and Sienna Whiten, 8, were stabbed to death inside their home in the Doral Isles gated community after officers arrived to do a welfare check.
According to detectives with the Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office, the girls’ father, Ryan Whiten, killed Hyer and the children before taking his own life. Authorities said all four had knife wounds.
“Ryan Whiten’s actions have shattered our family in ways that words cannot express,” Melanie’s mother, Jill Hyer, sister Corry Hyer, and ex-husband Alvin Jaramillo wrote in a joint statement to the Miami Herald.
The family said Hyer and Whiten were never married. Although Whiten had previously lived in the same gated community, he was not residing with Hyer and the children at the time of the killings.
Whiten had a history of drug abuse, the family said.
“Melanie had full custody of the children with visitation by Ryan, who for a time lived in the same development,” the statement reads.
Although Hyer and Jaramillo were divorced, the family said he remained “one of her closest and most devoted friends until the day she was taken from us.”
‘Woman of extraordinary warmth’
Originally from New York, she specialized in probate real estate and sold more than 1,000 properties across Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties. Her sales included single-family homes, condominiums, shopping centers and commercial properties.
“She was brilliant,” Hyer’s friend and real estate colleague Kim Rodstein told the Miami Herald on Friday. “She had a really great business mind.”
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The two met 15 years ago when Rodstein joined Keller Williams Realty, where Hyer worked, in Miami Beach.
Hyer was deeply involved in the community and belonged to several organizations, including 100+ Women Who Care Miami Beach, an “alliance of local philanthropic women supporting nonprofits in Miami-Dade,” which Rodstein co-founded.
She also supported Dade Legal Aid, which provides free legal services to low-income residents.
“Melanie was a visionary leader, dedicated advocate, and steadfast supporter of the legal community,” Dade Legal Aid wrote in a statement to the Herald. “Melanie’s impact extended far beyond her professional accomplishments; she was a driving force behind initiatives that strengthened the legal profession and expanded access to justice throughout South Florida.”
She organized the annual Probate Holiday Party with the Miami-Dade Bar Probate & Guardianship Committee, which raised funds and collected toys for families. In 2025, she received Dade Legal Aid’s Pro Bono Service Award for Exemplary Service to the Community.
According to Dade Legal Aid, Hyer also played a key role in launching the Elder Law Committee of the Miami-Dade Bar, creating opportunities for attorneys to collaborate, learn and advocate for some of the community’s most vulnerable residents.
Savannah and Sienna attended Downtown Doral Charter School. Principal Jeannette Acevedo-Isenberg shared the following statement with the Herald: “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.”
The girls and their mother were also active members of the Doral Field Hockey Club community, according to a Facebook post from the official USA Field Hockey account.
“Melanie was a woman of extraordinary warmth and fierce devotion to her daughters. Savannah and Sienna were joyful, bright, beloved girls who had their entire lives ahead of them. The loss of all three of them — violently, without warning — is a wound that will never heal,” Hyer’s family said.