In the years before the bodies of two children, their mother and their grandmother were found inside the Greenacres home where they lived, police had frequently been called to the yellow, one-story house.
Members of the family had contacted law enforcement at least nine times since June 2013, most recently in late May, when the mother reported being followed by a stranger in a white car. Details of the family’s interactions with police were released Thursday, as authorities continued their investigation into the deaths.
Police believe grandmother Nilda Sheffield, 53, shot and killed daughter Elizabeth Flores, 30, and grandchildren Xavier Neff, 7, and Sofia Chiddo, 2, before turning the gun on herself Saturday inside the home on the 4660 block of Chariot Circle. But the family’s prior reports to authorities is among information being considered by investigators.
“They’re going over everything they possibly can to try to figure out exactly why things happened the way that they did,” said Greenacres police Lt. Brandon Aultman.
Sheffield had no criminal record, mental health issues or known history of violent behavior, according to a report from the Department of Children and Families. Family friends have expressed disbelief that she could be responsible for the deaths, saying she loved her daughter and grandchildren and wouldn’t hurt them.
Aultman said investigators are still searching for a motive, but the investigation hasn’t turned up anything contradicting that the killings were a murder-suicide committed by Sheffield. There have been no signs pointing to another suspect, he said.
According to the records released Thursday, Flores went to the Greenacres Police Department on May 27 and told an officer she believed she was followed from her house by a newer, white four-door vehicle occupied by a man and woman. Police told her to call them if she saw the car outside her house again. There’s no indication Flores called after that.
About seven months earlier, in late October, Sheffield had gone to police to report that a man was stalking her. She said for the previous three or four weeks, she had noticed a man inside a white pickup parked in the street outside her house. The truck followed her when she left for work, she said.
“The driver has never made any attempts to get her attention or cause any harm,” an officer wrote in the report. “Sheffield does not have any issues with anyone she is aware of and does not recall any recent incidents that could have triggered such actions.”
She was told to call police immediately the next time the truck showed up at her home. There is no record of her having contacted them about it again.
Before those two reports, the majority of the family’s contacts with law enforcement involved trouble Flores said she was having with Sofia’s father, David Chiddo. He could not be reached for comment Thursday, despite attempts by phone.
Records indicate the couple had a sometimes volatile relationship, with Flores in October 2013 being granted a temporary restraining order against Chiddo. The restraining order stemmed from an alleged episode of domestic violence in which Flores said Chiddo pushed and hit her and was arrested after a witness called 911.
The domestic battery charge was dropped by prosecutors and, at Flores’ request, the restraining order was dismissed within a month of being granted.
Between May 2013 and 2014, Flores made seven calls to police about issues with Chiddo, none of which were violent in nature. She reported in October 2013 that someone had poured anti-freeze into her gas tank and she believed he was involved. Police listed him as a suspect in the report. But later, with no leads, the case went inactive.
In May 2014, Flores called police and said Chiddo had stolen her purse. Chiddo told investigators he decided to take the purse back after buying it for her, and showed them the receipt. Though theft charges were filed, prosecutors ultimately decided not to pursue the case after they were unable to reach Flores.
It was the last time police were dispatched to the house until the two reports of people possibly following Flores and Sheffield. After that, the next time officers were called was when a friend went to the house Saturday to check on the family and discovered the horrific scene inside.
Now, police are focusing their efforts on determining what happened that day.
“They’re considering everything and anything,” Aultman said. “Some things we’ve ruled out, some we haven’t.”
bshammas@sunsentinel.com, 561-243-6531 or Twitter @britsham
