orlando

Best friend Sanae Knowles never thought she would witness the tragic and early death of 19-year-old Latrell Adderley, killed in a hit-and-run crash in Orlando Florida, early Sunday morning.

Adderley was standing with a group of people near the road around 3:43 a.m. when a 2005 Ford Excursion driven by Alexis Lima, ran off the roadway, hit a pole, a parked vehicle and Adderley.

“Life has shown us its hurtful side by taking you away from us when we didn’t see it coming. It breaks my heart that you were taken so unexpectedly…I’m still crying,” Knowles said in a tribute to Adderley.

Adderly died in the Advent Health Orlando Hospital.

But authorities were still looking for 20-year-old Lima and two other passengers who took off. Lima, the driver was eventually arrested and booked at Orlando County Jail and charged with driving without a license causing death and leaving the scene of a crash which involved injuries.

Knowles said she cherished his “unconditional love, smile and personality.”

Mary Star of the Sea Catholic Academy where Adderley graduated in 2022 remembered him as “bold, spirited, innovator, fun and a leader.”

“Latrell made a lasting impact on the lives of administration, teachers and students…his energetic spirit and smiling face will surely be missed,” a social media post read.

Dominic Russell said he is still in disbelief and would have met Adderley in his duties as pageant director. “This has my heart heavy right now…I really was hoping this was a dream.”

Friend Lee Ann met Adderley at work. They never lost touch even after he went to college. “This hurt my soul…Who am I going to talk to? We [were] birthday buddy twins.

Monika Strachan said he lit up her life, “He was such an amazing young man, full of energy and joy, never a dull moment.”

On Thursday, Orange County Police found the body of 29-year-old Joanna Gomez-Simo, who is a Bahamian living in Orlando, Florida.

The police were called to the home for a welfare check when family members reported that they were unable to reach her. Her boyfriend Pierre Floriant, 41, allowed authorities inside the Pointe Vista Apartments where they found the pregnant woman strangled to death in her bedroom where she lived with her four children.

Police have since arrested Floriant and charged him with murder.

What happened the day Joanna Gomez-Simo was found dead

It is not known when she was strangled to death but her phone went unanswered for days. She was found with a blanket covering her body as Floriant stayed in the home.

After the murder, he dropped off their 6-month-old child for someone to keep for the night then returned to the apartment. And when the police arrived to investigate the home after a welfare complaint was made, he opened the door to permit them inside where they found the woman, who was 20 weeks pregnant, already dead.

Floriant said he believed Gomez-Simo was cheating on him and he did not want the baby.

Pierre Floriant abused Joanna Gomez-Simo before her death

Floriant has a history of domestic abuse stemming from December of last year when he punched Gomez-Simo in the stomach and neck to abort the baby. Because she refused he said, “he would perform the abortion himself,” she reported to the police before her death.

She had reached out to the police for help in times past when she wished to pursue criminal charges against Floriant. She was recently named as a victim in a Domestic Violence Aggravated Battery case involving Floriant as the defendant.

But Gomez-Simo moved out of state and was no longer in fear for her life so she dropped the charges against him.

The prosecution office said despite her desire to drop the case, it continued to investigate the matter but stated there was insufficient evidence to move forward with criminal charges and prove the case “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Gomez-Simo admitted to police that there were two other cases that were unreported where Floriant abused her.

What are the charges?

Floriant confessed to the killing and is charged with 1st-degree murder and the killing of an unborn child.