U.S. Marshals Arrest 24-Year-Old in Milford Home Invasion Killing 1

Q: What hidden digital trail allowed investigators to track these ruthless killers across state lines using just surveillance and license plates?

Investigators followed a vehicle trail built from private surveillance footage and automated license plate reader data. Milford police said detectives canvassed neighbors, collected home security video from the area around the East Broadway house, and then searched their license plate reader database. That allowed them to identify the car used in the June 3 home invasion and connect it to the suspects. Once police had the vehicle information, the digital record of where that car had been captured by cameras helped investigators trace movements beyond Connecticut and support a broader manhunt. Authorities said that evidence was critical in identifying both suspects and helped U.S. Marshals track Ivan Barias-Florimon to the Bronx after a two-month, multi-agency investigation. Police have described the license plate reader system as “vital” to the case. Reports also say detectives executed at least 27 search warrants as they built the evidence trail. In short, the “hidden digital trail” was not a single clue, but a network of neighborhood video and plate-reader hits that documented the suspects’ vehicle across jurisdictions.

Q: Why was an elderly couple targeted for a brutal home invasion while they slept, if it wasn't domestic violence?

Police have not publicly established why the couple was targeted. What is known is that investigators say the attack was deliberate, not random, and not being treated as domestic violence. According to Milford police, two men entered the East Broadway home through a rear sliding door around 3 a.m. while Frederick Werner, 69, and Sandra Cooper, 69, were asleep, then opened fire. Werner was killed and Cooper was critically wounded. Chief Keith Mello said early in the investigation that evidence gave police “strong indications” this was a targeted incident, and authorities have repeated that assessment since. That does not mean the motive has been disclosed. Police have announced arrests of Stuar Lopez-Reyes and Ivan Barias-Florimon on charges including felony murder, home invasion, conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, and assault on an elderly person, but court filings and public statements cited so far do not explain what relationship, if any, the suspects had to the victims or what prompted the shooting. Investigators appear to have focused on identifying the suspects and their vehicle through neighbor interviews, private surveillance footage, and license plate reader data. They have also said the investigation remains active and that additional arrests are possible, which suggests they may still be building the motive and broader context. So the short answer is: authorities believe the couple was specifically targeted, but they have not yet publicly said why.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Aug 5

Ivan Barias-Florimon, 24, was arrested in the Bronx after U.S. Marshals identified him last week as the second suspect in the June 3 Milford home invasion that killed 69-year-old Frederick Raymond Werner.
Police say Barias-Florimon and Stuar Lopez-Reyes broke into the couple's East Broadway home and opened fire, killing Werner and critically wounding his wife, who was shot in the head and remains hospitalized.
Barias-Florimon was arraigned Tuesday in New York and ordered held without bail on charges including felony murder, home invasion and attempted murder; he is due back in court Aug. 18.
Lopez-Reyes, 25, was arrested Thursday by Marshals and Connecticut police, is being held on $3 million bond, and faces an Aug. 11 court date as investigators continue to probe what Milford police say was likely a targeted attack.