Police say a Daytona Beach mother was killed by her estranged husband before investigators tracked him about 50 miles away.

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — A shooting inside a Daytona Beach townhome set off a search across Central Florida that ended roughly two hours later when the man police identified as the gunman was found dead after fleeing officers and crashing into a pond in Titusville. Police said 44-year-old Jacqueline “Jackie” Reyes was killed July 27 by her estranged husband, Robert Reyes Jr., 54, after he forced his way into her home.

The killing left the couple’s three sons without either parent and brought renewed attention to a troubled history that police said had continued after the couple separated. Daytona Beach Police Chief Jakari Young said investigators believe Robert Reyes became angry after learning that Jacqueline Reyes had moved on and was dating other people. Police said the case did not begin with a confrontation between strangers but followed earlier incidents involving the couple, including a reported break-in at the same residence months before the shooting.

Police were called to the Reena Drive home shortly after 6 p.m. One of the couple’s sons had been speaking with his mother by phone as the confrontation unfolded. According to local news reports, he ended that call and contacted 911 after hearing signs of danger. The son told a dispatcher that he heard his mother tell someone to put down a gun and then heard a shot. Officers arriving at the townhome found Jacqueline Reyes dead. Robert Reyes was no longer there, and witnesses told police they had seen him leave.

Young said investigators determined that Robert Reyes had forced his way through a back door before shooting his wife. The chief used the word “executed” while describing the killing at a news conference, but investigators have not publicly released a complete evidentiary record establishing every moment inside the home. Police said video also showed Robert Reyes trying to shoot himself after the killing, but the firearm malfunctioned. Authorities said he then left Daytona Beach in a gray sedan. At least two firearms were later recovered, according to police.

The search quickly expanded beyond Daytona Beach. Law enforcement agencies in Volusia County alerted Titusville police that Reyes was believed to be driving in their jurisdiction. Titusville officers used their network of automatic license plate readers to locate and follow the vehicle as it traveled through the city. The system detected the car after Reyes had left the homicide scene, giving officers a way to narrow the search without knowing in advance where he was headed. Young later said investigators did not know why Reyes drove to Titusville.

Police eventually located the car near South Washington Avenue and Garden Street. Officers attempted a traffic stop, but authorities said Reyes drove away and continued east on A. Max Brewer Memorial Parkway. The pursuit ended at Sand Point Park when the vehicle veered from the roadway and entered a pond. Officers approached after the crash and found Reyes unresponsive inside. Titusville police said preliminary evidence indicated that he had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound before or during the final moments of the crash. No officers were hurt, and Titusville police said officers did not fire their weapons.

For Daytona Beach investigators, the homicide also required looking backward. Young said Jacqueline Reyes had moved to Daytona Beach about a year earlier after separating from her husband. Police said Robert Reyes lived in St. Cloud. Young described the move as part of an effort by Jacqueline Reyes to get away from an abusive situation. The police chief said officers had previously responded to her home in December 2025 after Robert Reyes allegedly entered without permission and poured bleach on some of her clothing before leaving. That earlier allegation had not resulted in a finding that could prevent the July attack.

Records discussed by police and local news organizations also showed that Jacqueline Reyes sought a restraining order involving Robert Reyes in 2017. Young said that matter was dismissed after she did not appear for a court proceeding. The existence of a dismissed petition does not establish the allegations that were made in it, and authorities have not publicly released a complete account of what led her to seek the order. Police also said Robert Reyes had a separate criminal history, including an aggravated battery case from 2017 that did not involve his wife. Local reporting said that felony charge was later dropped, while he had misdemeanor convictions for other offenses.

The couple’s eldest son, 26-year-old David Reyes, gave a more personal account of what the family lost. He told WESH that his mother had called him only seconds before her death and that he heard her screaming and an alarm sounding in the background. He described Jacqueline Reyes as a real estate agent whose personality could change the mood of a room. “She made everybody happy,” he said. “She made everybody feel like they were a person.” His comments placed the focus on the woman at the center of a police investigation that, in its first hours, was dominated by the search for her husband.

David Reyes also spoke about the complicated grief facing the three brothers. He condemned what his father did while saying the family still remembered Robert Reyes as the parent who had cared for them for much of their lives. He said the brothers were preparing separate funerals for their mother and father. Young similarly emphasized the effect on the sons, saying they had lost both parents within about two hours. The chief called the case “extremely tragic” as he described the sequence from the Reena Drive shooting to the recovery of Reyes’ body in Titusville.

The events took place across two police jurisdictions and required separate investigative work. Daytona Beach police were responsible for the homicide inquiry, including the circumstances at Jacqueline Reyes’ home and the history investigators said preceded the shooting. Titusville police examined the attempted traffic stop, pursuit, crash and Reyes’ death. Their accounts aligned on the broad chronology: Jacqueline Reyes was found dead after the shooting, Robert Reyes fled Daytona Beach, police located his vehicle in Titusville, and he was found dead after the car entered the pond.

Because Robert Reyes died, there will be no criminal prosecution in which a jury could determine his guilt and no trial at which the evidence surrounding Jacqueline Reyes’ death could be tested in court. Police have instead characterized the case as a murder-suicide based on the evidence they collected. Authorities had not announced any other suspect, and the available police accounts identified Robert Reyes as the person responsible for the shooting. Questions that might otherwise have been addressed through a criminal case will remain matters for the investigative record rather than a prosecution.

The homicide investigation remained with Daytona Beach police, while Titusville authorities continued handling the circumstances surrounding the pursuit and crash. The agencies had not publicly identified a reason for Reyes’ trip to Titusville, and no official account reviewed for this report provided a complete explanation for his movements after leaving Daytona Beach. What police have established publicly is a two-hour sequence that began at Jacqueline Reyes’ home and ended in a pond about 50 miles away, leaving three sons to mourn both parents and investigators to reconstruct a case that will never proceed to trial.

Author note: Last updated August 30, 2026.