Barbershop owner and expectant father found dead in submerged car, Florida family says

Jose Malave Lebron was months away from becoming a father when he was found dead in a car submerged in a Florida retention pond, family members and police said.

Lebron, 36, had been last seen at around 3 a.m. on Monday, May 15, in Orlando, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

On May 19, deputies recovered a vehicle from a retention pond in Buena Ventura Lakes, about 20 miles south of Orlando, and found Lebron’s body inside, the sheriff’s office said.

Lebron failed to negotiate a curve, struck a utility box and crashed into the pond, according to a report from the Florida Highway Patrol. He was trapped inside the vehicle as it sank.

Investigators are not sure of the time and date of the crash, according to the report.

Lebron owned Barberos by Malavez in Kissimmee, according to family and friends. A video on the barbershop’s Instagram page showed candles and dozens of flowers placed around photos of Lebron at a memorial service.

He and his girlfriend, Sofia Ramirez, were expecting their first child in August, according to a Gofundme organized by Ramirez. She did not immediately respond to a request for comment from McClatchy News on May 22.

“They were both (ecstatic) and anxiously awaiting their baby girl,” the page says.

Lebron’s father, Anthony Castaneta, told WESH that he was leaning on family and his faith to help him cope with his son’s loss.

“It’s hard to be in a house of pain and sorrow, but there’s a reason for all of this,” he told the outlet. “It’s telling us life is precious. You can lose everything in a second. So, we’re going to learn from this.”

Ramirez, speaking through Lebron’s sister, who served as a translator, told the outlet that when Lebron went missing, she’d remained hopeful that he would return alive.

“She never thought he was going to be missing when the baby was going to be born,” she told the outlet. “Now she needs to look for strength to be strong for the baby.”

Kissimmee is about 20 miles south of Orlando.

This story was originally published May 22, 2023 at 10:46 AM with the headline "Barbershop owner and expectant father found dead in submerged car, Florida family says."