LEESBURG, FL (352today.com) – Monique Shihadeh can breathe a little easier, as the man wanted in connection with her husband’s murder has been apprehended and is now in custody.
The Leesburg Police Department (LPD) says Alex Lopez was arrested on Wednesday, June 26, in Kissimmee by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement’s Violent Crimes Task Force out of Orlando.
He’s charged with the killing of 51-year-old Raied Shihadeh, a husband and father whose void has left his family with the consequences and trauma associated with the violent crime.
“I can tell my chest is lighter this morning,” said Shihadeh. “I was carrying around this huge, huge weight. I was constantly stressed about the fact that he had not been caught yet.”
Shihadeh’s grief was compounded by the fact that Lopez was still at-large a month after her husband’s death.
“I didn’t feel as though what happened was fair,” said Monique. “My husband’s not here. We can’t talk with him. We can’t see him. And he’s (Lopez) walking around free, regardless of the fact that he was looking over his shoulder. The fact that he was still walking around free. I thought we were dealt a bad hand. Now that he’s been caught, it’s such a relief.”
Shihadeh says she found herself double checking her doors making sure they were locked, feeling uneasy, and now found herself with the added responsibility of being her family’s protector.
“It was a relief to know that he was caught. It took a weight off my shoulders,” she said.
When the phone call came, she says she was overcome with a wave of emotion.
“Detective Davidson had made me a promise. He said, ‘The minute I put handcuffs on him, you will be my first call,'” said Shihadeh. “Of course, he had to call his supervisor. But he did call, and he said, I was his second call. He said, ‘I promised you I would call, and I wanted to keep my promise.’ All I could do was thank him and cry. The kids heard me, and they came running, they knew what it was.”
Shihadeh says the outpouring of support and outrage from people in the area was palpable.
“The sympathy and the empathy that came from the community was refreshing,” said Shihadeh. “The hard work that the detectives put in, the FDLE and all of the other agencies that worked hard to catch him. Words of gratitude are not enough to express how I feel. They don’t know what this has done for my family, and how this has put us on the path to healing.”
Central Florida Crimeline offered a $5,000 reward for information leading to Lopez’s arrest. Shihadeh created her own GoFundMe to increase the reward.
“We’re so grateful to everyone that gave tips, shared his wanted picture, and I’m grateful to the local police department that worked hard, and I appreciate them all,” said Shihadeh.
Shihadeh says her husband’s influence remains a constant and his love for his family transcends the absence of his physical presence.
“My husband was a fixer, he didn’t like to see me stress,” she said. “If there was something that was bothering me, he wanted to fix it.”
And she says a deep spiritual connection remains.
The night before (the arrest of Lopez), I had a restless sleep. I lay back down that morning. I had drifted off and had a dream about him. In my dream, he came to tell me that he was okay. At the end of the dream, he showed me that this guy was caught. I knew it was coming,” said Shihadeh. “For me, this was his final way of saying, ‘I’m going to always be here and I’m always going to look out for you guys.'”