The Milford home invasion on East Broadway
Two men came through a sliding door in the middle of the night. The woman they shot in the head survived, and told police who she thought was behind it.
- When
- June 3, 2026
- Where
- East Broadway, Milford, Connecticut
- Status
- Charged, awaiting trial
Content note shooting, home invasion. No graphic images.
In brief
Just before 3 a.m. on June 3, 2026, two men entered a home on East Broadway in Milford, Connecticut, through a rear sliding door and shot the couple asleep inside. Frederick Werner, 69, died at the scene. Sandra Cooper, 69, was shot once in the head, called 911 and survived. Police called it a targeted attack. License plate readers and camera footage led investigators to two suspects, Stuar Lopez-Reyes, 25, and Ivan Barias-Florimon, 24, who were arrested in late July and early August 2026 and charged with murder and other felonies. They have not been tried.
Turning pointMilford police say their license plate reader database identified the vehicle used in the attack, and from it, the suspects.
- Killed
- Frederick Werner, 69
- Survived
- Sandra Cooper, 69, shot once in the head
- Where
- A home in the 800 block of East Broadway, Milford
- Accused
- Stuar Lopez-Reyes, 25, and Ivan Barias-Florimon, 24; charged, not convicted
- Key evidence
- License plate reader data, private security footage and, according to a warrant, text messages and phone records
- Status
- Both arrested; Barias-Florimon held pending extradition from New York as of August 2026
Watch the episode
Timeline
Late May 2026
According to reporting on the arrest warrant, Sandra Cooper fires an employee from her business on suspicion of stealing money. The former employee has not been charged.
June 3, 2026Just before 3 a.m.
Two men enter the home on East Broadway through a rear sliding door while Cooper and Werner are asleep. Cooper is shot once in the head, and Werner is shot multiple times. The men flee as Cooper calls 911.
June 3, 2026
Werner is pronounced dead at the scene. Cooper is taken to the hospital in serious condition and survives. Police say the attack was targeted, not random.
June to July 2026
Detectives interview neighbors, collect private security footage and search the city's license plate reader database, which police say identified the vehicle and then the suspects.
July 28, 2026
Arrest warrants are issued for Stuar Lopez-Reyes and Ivan Barias-Florimon on murder charges.
July 30, 2026
U.S. Marshals, with Milford and New Haven police, arrest Lopez-Reyes, 25, of Bridgeport, in New Haven.
August 4, 2026
A U.S. Marshals task force arrests Barias-Florimon, 24, in the Bronx. He is held pending extradition to Connecticut on a $3 million bond.
The full story
What happened
A little before 3 a.m. on June 3, 2026, Sandra Cooper and Frederick Werner were asleep in a home on East Broadway in Milford, Connecticut. Two men came in through a rear sliding door.
Cooper woke as they entered. She was shot once in the head. Werner was shot several times. The men ran, and Cooper, badly hurt, called 911. When officers arrived, Werner was dead. He was 69. Cooper, also 69, was taken to the hospital in serious condition and survived.
Milford police said early on that this was a targeted attack, not a random break-in.
The investigation
Detectives canvassed the neighborhood and pulled private security footage, and they ran searches through the city’s license plate reader system. Police later said those readers were vital in identifying the vehicle used in the attack, and through it, the men they believe carried it out.
On July 28, 2026, warrants were issued charging two men with murder. U.S. Marshals, working with Milford and New Haven police, arrested Stuar Lopez-Reyes, 25, of Bridgeport, in New Haven on July 30. A marshals task force in New York found Ivan Barias-Florimon, 24, living in the Bronx and arrested him on August 4. He was held on a $3 million bond to await extradition to Connecticut.
The charges include murder, felony murder, home invasion and first-degree assault of an elderly person, and federal authorities also listed conspiracy and attempted murder counts against Barias-Florimon.
What the warrant reportedly says
According to WFSB, which reviewed the arrest warrant, Cooper told police she thought a former employee she had fired from her business, on suspicion of stealing money, was connected to the attack. The warrant reportedly says Barias-Florimon worked as a landscaper for that employee’s husband and had done work at Cooper’s home, and that on the day of the firing he sent the former employee messages offering to make Cooper’s life hell.
The same reporting says the two men stole a license plate from Tweed New Haven Airport shortly before the shooting, that phone records put both near the scene, and that investigators later found the vehicle and the stolen gun used in the shooting in the Bronx. The night after the shooting, Lopez-Reyes allegedly texted someone that he had done something stupid and that people were looking for him.
None of this has been tested in court. Both men are presumed innocent, and the former employee has not been named by police or charged with anything.
What the video couldn't include
She told police who she suspected
According to WFSB's reporting on the warrant, Cooper told police she believed a former employee she had recently fired, on suspicion of stealing money, was connected to the attack. The former employee has not been named by police and faces no charges.
The messages in the warrant
The warrant reportedly says Barias-Florimon worked as a landscaper for the former employee's husband and had worked at Cooper's home, and that on the day of the firing he messaged the former employee, including the line "I'll make her life hell." These are allegations in a court document, not findings at trial.
A plate stolen from an airport
According to the same reporting, the two men stole a license plate from Tweed New Haven Airport shortly before the shooting, and phone records place both near the scene that morning.
The car and the gun turned up in the Bronx
Investigators reportedly found the vehicle in the Bronx, along with a stolen gun that was used in the shooting.
"They're looking for me"
The night after the shooting, Lopez-Reyes allegedly texted someone asking to stay at their home, writing that he had done something stupid and people were looking for him, and asked them to delete the messages.
The video and the record
The episode tells this case in about 2 minutes with illustrated recreations. Here is how its key moments line up with what is documented.
Two men dressed in black came through the rear sliding door
Documented
Police say the men entered through a rear sliding door. What they wore is not in the sources cited here.
Their beachfront home
Dramatized
Sources place the home in the 800 block of East Broadway. Whether it is beachfront is not stated in them.
At 2:52 in the morning, badly wounded, she called 911
Compressed
NBC Connecticut reports the shooting at around 2:56 a.m. and says she called 911 as the men fled. The exact minute differs between accounts.
"I'll make her life hell."
Documented
Quoted from reporting on the arrest warrant. It is an allegation that has not been tested at trial.
A gun later recovered in New York was linked to the shell casings
Compressed
Reporting on the warrant says investigators found the vehicle and a stolen gun used in the shooting in the Bronx. How the gun was linked is not detailed in our sources.
The couple, the bedroom, the intruders
Reconstruction
AI-generated illustrations. No real photographs or footage are used.
What the four marks mean
- Documented
- Shown as it is recorded in court filings, police statements, or consistent reporting.
- Reconstruction
- A reasonable visual recreation of a documented event. The event happened; the image is illustrative.
- Compressed
- Real events shortened, merged, or reordered to fit the runtime.
- Dramatized
- A storytelling choice (framing, wording, emphasis) that the record does not establish.
Sources
- [1]U.S. Marshals Service“U.S. Marshals Arrest Milford Murder Suspects”
- [2]NBC Connecticut“Second arrest made in Milford home invasion where man was killed, woman was injured”
- [3]WFSB“2nd arrest made in Milford homicide, home invasion case”
- [4]WKRC Local 12, citing WFSB's review of the arrest warrant“Revenge motive of woman suspected after 2 men break in, shoot husband, wife: docs”
SourcedFacts in this file come from the reporting listed above. Some details are still waiting on primary records. Last reviewed September 12, 2026. How we check cases
