Miami-Dade Police want to question a man who is in the hospital after he lost an eye in an altercation with officers last week. They say that Gustavo Castano was the last person to see his ex-girlfriend Liliana Moreno and their daughter alive.
The 43-year-old mother and Daniela Moreno, 9, have been missing since late May, in a case that has generated much local media coverage.
Authorities were still searching for the missing mom and child Friday, when they found Gustavo inside a vehicle parked at a Hialeah Gardens shopping center. He threatened to harm himself with a knife, police said.
"Once the detectives observed Mr. Castano begin to cut his neck, they immediately broke the passenger window and utilized an electronic control device to take control of him and cease his attempts to commit suicide," said a Miami-Dade police spokesperson.
One of the Taser’s prongs ejected from the device and penetrated his right eye, consequently causing him to permanently lose vision in that eye, officers said.
"I can't believe the circumstances where tasing someone in the eyeball is appropriate," Castano's attorney, Michael Grieco, told Miami's WTSP News. "It is excessive and something we will deal with at a later point."
Miami-Dade police said in a statement to The Huffington Post that Castano had attempted to use the box cutter as a shield to deflect the prongs from the Taser.
"As a result, one of the prongs struck Mr. Castano in the eye," the statement reads.
Castano has been hospitalized since the incident. He is expected to remain there for about a week.
Authorities said they have not ruled out foul play in the disappearance of Moreno and her daughter.
Castano reportedly told police he dropped them near the shopping center where police confronted him at on May 30
Moreno's sister, who lives in Colombia, reported her missing on May 31. Police found no sign of Moreno or her daughter when they went to conduct a welfare check at her apartment in the Miami suburb of Doral. However, investigators did find her wallet and purse inside the home. Her cellphone, which has not been located, has not been powered on since before her disappearance.
"At this time, investigators have reached out to family members and friends," Doral Police Captain Carlos Arango, whose agency is assisting in the investigation, told Miami's WFOR‑TV. "None of them have been able to give us an exact count of where she may be and that raises our concern significantly."
Police have searched for the mother and daughter across the region, including at lakes, wooded areas and a warehouse that Castano reportedly used. South Florida's WTVJ News reported authorities recently confiscated a dumpster from the warehouse. What, if anything, they found in it is not yet known.
Authorities have not named Castano a suspect or person of interest in the case and Grieco insists his client is innocent.
"He had nothing to do with it," the attorney told WTSP News. "My client wants to see Daniela and Liliana home safe."
Anyone with any information on Moreno and her daughter's whereabouts is asked to contact Miami-Dade Crime Stoppers at 305-471-TIPS. Callers can remain anonymous and may be eligible for a reward.
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