Man Allegedly Kills Girlfriend, Sends Picture of Corpse to Her Estranged Husband Before Driving Body to Police

Alexander Roque, 48, was charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of 44-year-old Yessenia Rodriguez Marquez, say police

• Alexander Roque allegedly confessed to killing his girlfriend Yessenia Rodriguez Marquez, police say

• Witnesses allege Roque sent them photos of Marquez’s lifeless body, per Florida authorities

• The victim’s sister told NBC Miami that Marquez was “a very good mother”

A Florida man is in custody after he allegedly killed his girlfriend, sent photos of her body to multiple people including the victim’s estranged husband, and then drove her body to a police station, authorities say.

Alexander Roque, 48, was arrested on Sunday in Florida City, Fla., and charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of 44-year-old Yessenia Rodriguez Marquez, online court records show.  

Late on Saturday evening, Florida City Police responded to the city’s police headquarters regarding a shooting and found Roque standing outside his vehicle, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by PEOPLE.

Roque allegedly “spontaneously” told police he fatally shot Marquez, his girlfriend, per the affidavit. He then drove her body to the police station, according to authorities, WSVN, Local 10 and NBC Miami report.

During the investigation, police learned Roque allegedly called the woman’s estranged husband and admitted to killing her before sending him a photo of Marquez’s lifeless body, which was “covered in blood,” according to the affidavit.

The husband told police that Roque, while driving, then called him and “panned the camera over to the front passenger seat,” thus showing him Marquez’s body, the affidavit alleges.

The husband screen-recorded the video call and later handed it over to the police, per the affidavit.

Authorities say Roque also sent a photo of the corpse to his cousin and allegedly told him he killed her “while driving around the Florida City area,” according to the affidavit. The cousin then called 911.

During the video call to Marquez’s estranged husband, Roque allegedly said that “he was a man and that he had to be respected,” Marquez’s mother, Odelsa Margarita Marquez, claimed, per NBC Miami.

The husband says Roque and Marquez were in a romantic relationship for three months.

The Miami-Dade Police Department Homicide Bureau, which has taken over the case, did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

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Marquez reportedly came to the U.S. from Cuba recently and has a 12-year-old daughter, her relatives told Univision.

“Yessenia was a very good mother, since she came to this country she was in the school,” her sister-in-law said, per NBC Miami.

Online court records show Roque has entered a plea of not guilty. He has been assigned a public defender to speak on his behalf but no further information was immediately available about the attorney.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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