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The murder-suicide happened Wednesday morning at a home in Valrico, while a child hid upstairs and called 911, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said.
VALRICO, Fla. — WARNING: This story includes graphic details. Reader discretion is advised.
The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office is investigating after they said an estranged husband shot his wife’s new boyfriend in a murder-suicide.
The murder-suicide happened Wednesday morning at a home in a Valrico neighborhood, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister stated in a press conference.
Deputies reportedly learned of the situation after receiving calls from a woman saying her husband, 51-year-old Philip Cordova, was threatening to shoot her new boyfriend. Soon after, first responders received a call from the couple’s 12-year-old son, who was hiding upstairs in a closet.
“Daddy just broke in the house,” the 12-year-old said, according to Chronister.
“At the same time, emergency call-takers on the estranged wife’s phone hear her husband tell he new boyfriend, ‘I’m going to kill you,’ and then hear several gunshots,” Chronister added.
Deputies arrived at the home located on Drake Elm Drive less than 10 minutes after the calls. As they pulled up, Chronister said they saw a vehicle fully engulfed in flames and a man on fire lying on the ground with a gun a few feet away.
When deputies went inside the home, they found the wife’s new boyfriend shot multiple times, Chronister said.
“Matter of fact, safe to say executed,” Chronister shared.
Deputies were able to find the wife and her 12-year-old son before escorting them safely out of the home.
As the investigation continued, the wife told deputies that Cordova discovered his estranged wife had been dating somebody new over the last three months. The two had separated five years ago.
From last Thursday until Wednesday morning, he reportedly sent her texts saying that he would come to her house and “take his own life” and “light himself on fire.”
Cordova had no criminal history before the murder-suicide, Chronister said. They were able to confirm him as the shooter, and believe he was the person found on fire by the car, but said the medical examiner will have to positively identify the body to know for sure.
The identity of the man who was shot to death is yet to be released.