PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — A bit of relief, but no sense of closure for a Treasure Coast family after the man police said murdered their loved one is now behind bars.
The Leesburg Police Department announced the arrest of Alex Lopez, 25, on Wednesday, nearly a month after he was accused of killing a convenience store owner, Raied Shihadeh, 51, on May 30 in Central Florida.
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WPTV journalist Stephanie Susskind on Friday reconnected with the victim's family as they work to move forward, while also hanging onto memories of the past.
"It was like someone was stepping on my chest. And when he called me to let me know Alex Lopez was arrested, it was like that foot came off my chest and the weight was just lifted off," Monique Shihadeh, Raied's wife, told Susskind.
"That’s such a powerful way to describe it," Susskind replied. "It allows us to feel that pain that you’ve been going through."
"Yes. And that my kids are going through," Monique said. "They miss their dad as much as I miss my husband."
Monique said her family can now start their journey toward healing after the man accused of murdering her husband is in jail.
"You have this monster that comes in, and it has you questioning the humanity of others, the kindness of others, the lack of, just, love in the world," Monique said.
On May 30, Monique's husband, Raied, was working at his convenience store in Leesburg, hours away from the family's Port St. Lucie home, when a gunman, identified by police as Lopez, came in, stole cash, and shot the beloved family man, killing him.
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"I’ve had to change all of my ring tones and all of the sounds, because it’s just hard. I know I won’t be hearing from him again," Monique said.
"It's those little things, right? Those little moments throughout your day that trigger that wave of emotion," Susskind said.
"It is. It’s a continuous thing," Monique said.
After almost a month on the run, police, with the help of state law enforcement, arrested Lopez Wednesday at a hotel in Kissimmee. He appeared in court Thursday.
"I can’t begin to tell you how my husband's death had impacted us, but how [Lopez] walking around free has impacted my family. So the fact that he is now on the path to suffering consequences for his actions, it’s been a huge relief," Monique said.
So as the family continues to take life one day at a time, they are choosing to see the good.
"Through this tragedy, you actually see real humanity. You see real kindness. You see real empathy and sympathy. And you cannot be jaded by the world, by the actions of one person. Because for that one person, there were 50 others that stepped others to do a kind act," Monique said.
