The two girls were students at Downtown Doral Elementary, where counselors were made available after the deaths.
DORAL, Fla. — Four members of a Doral family were found dead inside a home Tuesday night after officers responded to a welfare check, leaving classmates, neighbors and South Florida’s real estate community in mourning.
The Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office said the victims were Melanie Lauren Hyer, 46; Ryan Charles Whiten, 42; and their daughters, Savannah Whiten, 11, and Sienna Whiten, 8. Officials said the case is being investigated as an apparent murder-suicide after all four were found with stab wounds.
The call brought Doral police to the Doral Isles neighborhood near Northwest 111th Court and Northwest 72nd Terrace shortly after 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. Officers entered the home and found the two adults and two children unresponsive. Miami-Dade Fire Rescue pronounced them dead at the scene. Authorities have not released a detailed timeline of the deaths or said when each person died.
Hyer was a prominent probate real estate professional in South Florida and had been interviewed by local media about real estate issues. People who knew her described her as active, warm and precise in her work. Former journalist Willard Shepard said Hyer was an expert in probate and foreclosure matters and that he had spoken with her weeks earlier without seeing anything that suggested such violence could occur.
Records and people familiar with the family showed Hyer and Whiten had been separated for years and were co-parenting Savannah and Sienna. Hyer had divorced another man in March, and Whiten had also remarried and divorced. His last known address was an apartment in the same Doral Isles area, according to reports based on public records.
The girls’ school community learned of the deaths Wednesday. Jeannette Acevedo-Isenberg, head of Downtown Doral Charter Schools, told families that the children were beloved members of the elementary school. Counselors were placed on campus for students and staff. The message said the loss was difficult for the school community and extended sympathy to family, friends, faculty and staff.
Mayor Christi Fraga said she knew Hyer and the girls and described Hyer as a bright presence who helped at school and stayed involved as a mother. The mayor said the tragedy struck especially hard because of those personal ties. Neighbors also told local reporters they had seen the girls with Whiten days before the welfare check.
The sheriff’s homicide bureau is continuing its investigation with the Miami-Dade County Medical Examiner’s Office. Officials have not announced a final motive, released autopsy results or said whether there were prior police calls tied to the home.
The case remained active Thursday, with investigators awaiting medical examiner findings and the Doral community mourning two children and their parents.
Author note: Last updated Thursday, June 4, 2026.