The father of a New York City nurse recounted a terrifying 14-minute phone call during which the shooter, his daughter's boyfriend, admitted to killing her before he committed suicide.
Rudy Cantarini, an ex-police officer, was on the phone Tuesday night as Juan Cornelio Diaz, 38, confronted his 37-year-old daughter, Andrea Cantarini, in their Bronx apartment. Cantarini told the New York Post that he heard what sounded like gunshots and his daughter screaming before Diaz said, "She's gone, Rudy."
Police arrived at the apartment shortly after 9 p.m. to find Andrea, a nurse at St. Barnabas Hospital, dead from a gunshot wound to the head in the bedroom. Diaz, a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agent stationed at John F. Kennedy International Airport, was found dead nearby with a gunshot wound to the head. Authorities are investigating the incident as a murder-suicide stemming from a domestic dispute.
Andrea's father stated that his daughter had intended to break up with Diaz, but "He couldn't handle it. He was a coward." He recalled his daughter calling him at 8:47 p.m. saying, "He's going to kill me and he's got a gun to my head." Cantarini and his daughter pleaded with Diaz to let her go, but he did not listen.
"I was on the phone with her for 14 minutes while he was holding a gun to her head," Rudy Cantarini told the New York Daily News. "I was begging for her life. And he ended up taking her life."
Andrea Cantarini and Diaz were parents to a six-year-old daughter. Diaz also had a son from a previous relationship. Neighbors described the couple as appearing happy and successful, with one neighbor recalling Diaz expressing excitement about moving to a larger space for their daughter.
Prior to the incident, Cantarini's father was unaware of any mental health issues Diaz may have had. However, a downstairs neighbor reported hearing a loud argument between the couple earlier in the week. Cantarini's father mentioned that Diaz had previously waved a gun at his daughter, an incident he wished he had reported to the police.
Andrea Cantarini had gone to the apartment to retrieve clothing hours after the earlier confrontation. Her father believes Diaz was waiting for her. The neighbor also reported hearing what sounded like gunshots followed by "thuds."
A CBP spokesperson confirmed the agency is cooperating with the investigation. The firearm believed to have been used in the incident has been recovered by police.