Two Florida cold cases that have remained shrouded in mystery for years have finally been solved, according to authorities.
Both cases — a fatal stabbing in 2007 and a fatal shooting in 2022 — took place in Kissimmee and were solved by the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office’s Cold Case Program, FOX 35 Orlando reported.
The first case began on June 24, 2007, when 17-year-old De’Andre Nathaniel Wellnitz was reportedly attending a house party and was fatally stabbed in the chest. The case ran cold just several months into the investigation.
In October 2024, investigators identified a person of interest in the killing and subsequently located the individual in Orlando earlier this year.
In an interview with investigators, the person of interest confirmed they attended the same party as Wellnitz and had been hit during a fight. The individual said he picked up a nearby kitchen knife and began waving it to keep others from hitting him, according to investigators.
Investigators ultimately determined the person of interest acted in self-defense and declined to file charges.
“I appreciate the empathy that was shown as well as them being straightforward with all of the details,” Wellnitz’s mother, Kelly McDonald said, according to FOX 35. “What it has done for me has given me closure… I’m able to stop playing the story that I’ve played for 18 years over and over again in my head. I’m able to see something different. I’m able to have peace now.”
McDonald added that she hopes other families who have experienced a similar loss can also receive some sort of closure, “even if it’s not what you think it should be.”
The second case stemmed from the fatal shooting of Jommil Baez-Quinones, who was shot multiple times near Indian Point Circle on Feb. 23, 2022.
After investigators spent months exhausting all leads, the case ultimately ran cold. However, in October 2024, authorities subsequently reopened the investigation.
Luis Eluvar Gonzalez, 23, was identified as a suspect and, with help from U.S. Marshals, was arrested by authorities. Gonzalez is charged with first-degree manslaughter with a weapon and first-degree robbery with a firearm stemming from the death of Baez-Quinones, according to FOX 35.
The sheriff’s Cold Case Program was formed in 2024 and has solved two cases out of the 32 that remain unsolved in the county.
The Osceola County Sheriff’s Office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
