A YOUNG couple was found without life in their bedroom on October 15, 2015.

Tara Rosado and Carlos Ortiz’s murders were the subject of two criminal trials.

Who were Tara Rosado and Carlos Ortiz?

Tara Rosado and Carlos Ortiz were a couple who lived together in Key West, Florida, with Tara’s children.

Miami News Times describes Tara as “a strikingly pretty 26-year-old with aqua-blue eyes.”

She was a recently divorced mother of three young children.

Carlos had a criminal record with charges of armed robbery and marijuana trafficking and possession, according to Local 10 News.

Per Miami News Times, a friend of Carlos and Tara named Steele Hancock said he saw Carlos’ health deteriorate due to drug abuse.

He allegedly told police, “It would probably be easier to name the drugs [Carlos] wasn’t doing. Cocaine, pills, and heroin… He got himself into really bad debt with drug dealers.”

The outlet also reports that Tara had begun using cocaine and oxycodone with her boyfriend.

What happened to Tara Rosado and Carlos Ortiz?

On October 15, 2015, Tara Rosado and Carlos Ortiz’s lifeless bodies were found by Tara’s children, who were eight, four, and three years old at the time.

The children were able to get the help of a neighbor, Travis Kvadus, who alerted the police.

Kvadus told Local 10 News that he heard gunshots the night before and that the children ran out to the streets to get help.

He recalled, “They said, ‘Mommy and him are dead.’ And I said, ‘Are you sure they’re not sleeping?’ And they said, ‘No, there’s blood.’ And I said, ‘Well, let’s go take a look.'”

Both Tara and Carlos suffered a gunshot wound to their heads.

Who was convicted of their murders?

Months before Tara Rosado and Carlos Ortiz were killed, Jeremy Macauley reportedly found around 20 kilos of cocaine in the ocean.

The Miami Herald reports that, in an attempt to sell the contraband, Macauley enlisted the help of several people, including Carlos.

Investigators argued that Macauley killed Carlos and Tara because Carlos was extorting him over the cocaine deal.

The Herald also reports that Carlos was demanding more money from the cocaine earnings, and threatened to report Macauley to the police.

According to the Miami News Times, Carlos’ friend Steeler Hancock told police that Carlos had been looking for drug dealers he could rob.

The day before he was murdered, Carlos allegedly told Hancock that he was going to extort Macauley for drugs and money.

Hancock also said that Carlos looked “like he hadn’t slept for three days.”

Macauley was convicted of the double murder in 2017 and given two life sentences, which a court of appeals later overturned.

However, in May 2024, he was once again found guilty of both murders. A month later, he was re-sentenced to two life sentences.