POLK COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) — Melissa Rodriguez says her 3-year-old nephew clings to a toy dinosaur, one of the only things he has left of his father
“He would see that boy as much as he can, and now that boy has no explanation as to why his father was taken. He cries every night,” said Rodriguez.
Rodriguez said her younger brother, Edil “Eddie” Fernando Rodriguez Jr., 33, would give a person in need his last dollar.
“He was a free spirit. He was very respectful, very helpful. He was loved. He’s missed by many,” she said. “He wasn’t perfect, but which of us are perfect? We’re not all perfect. He tried.”
Rodriguez said her brother, a father of two, had a place to live but liked spending time at a homeless camp in Winter Haven.
That’s where deputies said he was shot and killed in a tent on Nov. 8.
His accused killer, Enrique Martinez, 26, had been on the run ever since.