After an intense, three-day manhunt, Florida police have finally arrested a Miami Gardens man accused of murdering his wife and 10-year-old daughter with a machete.
Miami Gardens police said officers spotted Noel Chambers before 6 p.m. on Tuesday, as he hid near a fire station close to the border between Miami-Dade and Broward counties, according to local station WPLG. He was arrested on charges of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.
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“We apprehended the heinous criminal Noel Chambers,” Miami Gardens Police Chief Delma Noel-Pratt told reporters during a news conference, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel reported.
Noel-Pratt added: “The firefighters recognized him from the extensive media coverage and law enforcement presence.”
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Chambers, 57, is accused of brutally attacking his wife, Lorrice Harris, and daughter, Shayla Chambers, on Saturday night after Harris told him she was leaving him. Oxygen reports Harris was murdered on her birthday, then left her mangled body on the back porch, according to the Miami Herald.
Chambers also attacked the couple’s other daughter, 29-year-old Shanalee Chambers, but she is expected to live, according to police.
Prior to his capture, Ashley Anderson, who is Harris’ middle daughter, told The Miami Herald: “If he can do that to his own daughter, his own wife, this is not a man. This is a monster.”
After police apprehended the man known by the nickname “Massive” because of his huge build, Anderson told Local 10 News that the family is relieved that Chambers is behind bars.
“He [doesn’t] belong on the street,” Anderson said, according to the news station. “He [doesn’t deserve] to live. We’re just so happy that he got caught.”