A routine Sunday run to Dollar Tree shouldn’t end with police tape. Yet Little Havana woke up to exactly that.

Early December 14, Miami police responded to a store on SW 8th Street. An employee had found a woman’s body inside a commercial freezer in the back room. Customers can’t access that area.

That detail fuels the confusion. Staff said they didn’t recognize her. And she wasn’t an employee.

Surveillance footage later helped identify her as Helen Massiell Garay Sanchez. She was 32, a doctor, and a mother. Investigators believe she entered the store the night before and walked into the restricted area.

She didn’t buy anything. She stayed inside overnight. Staff discovered her the next morning while opening up.

The questions are louder than the answers

Here’s the agitation: police ruled out foul play, but the circumstances still feel unreal. Neighbors voiced disbelief at the scene. Online commenters fixated on freezer safety features and security cameras.

Meanwhile, a family grieves. Loved ones say Garay Sanchez was originally from Nicaragua and worked as an anesthesiologist. They also say her two young children live back home.

Now her family is raising money to bring her body to Nicaragua for burial. The fundraiser asks for help, even small amounts, to support her children.

This story leaves a neighborhood unsettled. More importantly, it leaves a family trying to make sense of the unthinkable.