Clues emerge in murder-suicide that claimed the life of Coral Gables Hospital CEO
The discovery on the day before Thanksgiving was heart-wrenching: The CEO of Coral Gables Hospital had been shot to death by her husband, who then turned the gun on himself.
Two days later, it remained unclear Friday exactly what drove Antonio Mazzorana, 62, to kill Maria Cristina Jimenez, 61, before committing suicide inside their home in the Schenley Park neighborhood near Coral Gables. Miami-Dade police investigators have not detailed a possible motive. Court records showed no history of domestic strife in Mazzorana’s past.
But multiple law-enforcement sources say Mazzorana may have been struggling with mental health issues and had made recent remarks hinting at possible suicide.
The discovery stunned those who knew the couple, who had been together for decades.
Jimenez, a grandmother who once told an interviewer she loved to cook in her off-time, started as an intern at the for-profit hospital then rose in the ranks from a full-time lab tech to become its senior executive in 2017.
Rebeca Sosa, a former Miami-Dade County commissioner who serves as chair of the Coral Gables Hospital board, described Jimenez as generous with her time and a popular leader. “Everybody loved her,” Sosa said. “Anyone who would call Cristina to help someone, she would always be there.”
The bodies were discovered on Wednesday, after Jimenez’s adult daughter hadn’t been able to get a hold of her mother for a couple days. She went to Jimenez and Mazzorana’s home in the 5700 block of Southwest 34th Street shortly before noon. Their cars were in the driveway. When no one answered the door, she called police.
Reached on Friday, Jimenez’s daughter declined to comment.
Miami-Dade officers entered the home and found the couple in the master bedroom. Jimenez is believed to have been shot while she was asleep, according to multiple law-enforcement sources, adding that Mazzorana left a suicide note on the kitchen counter that did detail a motive.
According to sources, Mazzorana faced unemployment after December, and had been making the worrying remarks to family members. He’d also had a cancer scare, although he was not diagnosed with it, sources said.
Exactly what Mazzorana’s job was remains unclear, although state records show he is listed as a managing member of a company called AMF Healthcare Partners, LLC. His brother, Dr. Ivan Mazzorana, told WFOR-CBS4 that “the contract he was working on was coming to an end” but he did not believe he had any financial issues.
The couple was in the process of moving from the home where the killings occurred to another, newly built house.
If you or someone you know is thinking about self harm, call the toll-free National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 800-273-TALK (8255). It’s available 24/7.
