Metro Detroit Crime Report has confirmed that accused killer Yanko Romero has died while in state custody in Florida. His death, described as self-inflicted, brings an abrupt end to a violent trail of cases that stretched from Michigan to Florida.
Romero was no stranger to our readers. Back in June, we reported that he was the prime suspect in a brutal Inkster homicide where his Michigan roommate was stabbed more than 40 times. Inkster police had secured a warrant for Romero’s DNA and considered him their only person of interest. Detectives said Romero admitted to having “no memory” of the events, while his longtime girlfriend told investigators she was shocked at the allegations.
At the same time, Romero was arrested in Fort Myers, Florida for the shooting death of a man who had just tied up his boat near the Oasis Grand Boulevard area. That arrest confirmed the suspicions of Inkster police, who believed Romero had fled south because of his past ties to Florida.
While housed in the Lee County Jail, Romero’s violence didn’t stop. He viciously assaulted fellow inmate Brandt Diaz, leaving him with severe head and facial injuries.
By July, a Florida judge ruled Romero incompetent to stand trial and ordered him committed to the Florida State Hospital in Chattahoochee, a state-run psychiatric institution. Officials said he would remain there until he was deemed fit to stand trial, where he would have faced the possibility of the death penalty in the Florida case.
That trial will never come. On September 2nd, Romero was confirmed dead.
This ends a case that spanned multiple states, left two men dead, and raised unanswered questions for the victims’ families. Neither Michigan nor Florida will ever see Romero face a jury.
