A Florida man looks battered and bruised as he makes his first court appearance on murder charges, after running a car he thought was carrying his ex off the road — but was instead carrying a random couple, one of whom died while on the phone with her daughter.
The Florida man accused of killing a 28-year-old mother and injuring her boyfriend in what appears to be a case of mistaken identity made his first court appearance Thursday — with injuries sustained during the incident still visible during his virtual hearing.
Kyle Hill, 33, was arrested on charges of DUI manslaughter, vehicular homicide, and a probation violation following a car crash which killed Arislenni Blanco-Medina, 28, and injured her boyfriend, Norbelis Figueredo-Campos.
The St. Petersburg Police Department later announced the charges were upgraded to 1st degree murder and attempted 1st degree murder.
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While Hill allegedly believed he was chasing down his ex at the time of the crash, which occurred this past Sunday, he was tracking the wrong vehicle — and ran the car carrying the two victims into a pole.
As seen in video from WFLA, Hill appeared virtually for his court appearance, sitting in a wheelchair while wearing an orange jumper. He still had bruising to his forehead, appearing to wince in pain, while also holding his chest.
“Apparently, your car is not in good shape after the accident situation, huh. Was that paid off?” the judge sarcastically asked during the hearing, to which Hill responded, “I don’t remember anything, sir.”
At the time of the crash, per authorities, Hill’s blood alcohol level was “more than twice the legal limit.”
Per WFLA, he received no bond.
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Details of the Crash, Victims
The incident went down on Sunday night in St. Pete, around 8pm, following an argument Hill had with his ex-girlfriend, per police. According to authorities, his girlfriend took off in a friend’s car and he “decided to drive his Nissan SUV to go find her.”
While driving around town, Hill allegedly saw a Honda and “assumed it was his ex-girlfriend.” According to Police Chief Anthony Holloway, via FOX 13, the vehicle was the same make and model as the car his ex was in, but was a different color.
“While chasing a car, he called her again and said, ‘I got you. I’m going to kill you, your friend, and myself,'” Holloway added in a press conference. “But, it gets worse from there. The car that he was chasing was not his girlfriend’s car.”
Per police, Hill “began aggressively chasing and harassing the Honda for several blocks.”
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Inside the vehicle were Figueredo-Campos and Blanco-Medina, who had both moved to Florida from Cuba; Blanco-Medina had only been in the US for a couple months before her death, said family during the same presser. The two were on their way to Walmart, said police.
Authorities claimed Blanco-Medina was on the phone with her 9-year-old daughter and father, who were both in Cuba, during the pursuit. Per her brother, her last words were her screaming, “He’s going to kill me.” They also heard the crash, said police.
As Hill “continued to pursue them,” according to police, he “forced them off the road” and onto the sidewalk, where they struck a concrete pole that fell and crushed the car.
Blanco-Medina died in the incident, while Figueredo-Campos was rushed to the hospital with serious injuries, said cops.
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