Julia Motto, 67, was shot dead in her Ocala apartment on October 20, 2014, in the same attack that killed her daughter, 34-year-old Bonnie Motto. The women were found inside their unit at Springwood Village Apartments on Southeast 25th Street after the suspect, 54-year-old Ricardo de Jesus Barrera, entered and shot them both.

Bonnie had a history with Barrera; he was her ex-boyfriend and had been linked to earlier incidents of domestic violence, including allegedly slashing her tires. In the days before the killings Bonnie tried to obtain a restraining order, but it was not granted because she did not state she had been directly threatened. Bonnie’s two young children, a 6-year-old girl and a 22-month-old boy, were in the apartment during the shooting and were not physically harmed.

After the murders Barrera fled on a motorcycle, was pursued by police, exchanged gunfire with an officer, crashed and was taken to hospital, where he later died. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigated the officer-involved shooting.

Did anyone in Ocala recognize warning signs in this case or have information about Barrera’s prior conduct?