Mother Arrested in Miami After Video Shows Her Abusing 7-Year-Old Son

A Hialeah mother was arrested after supermarket cameras captured her, according to police, pulling her 7-year-old son’s hair and ears and biting the ear of her 4-year-old son. The woman, Madelien Inurrieta-Martínez, 43, a Cuban national and Miami resident, faces two felony counts of child abuse with bodily harm, according to NBC 6, Local 10, and WSVN. Note that this is an accusation, not a conviction. According to NBC 6, she denied attacking her children.

What the video shows, according to police

The incident occurred on the night of Wednesday, November 4, at Fatty’s Market, located at 893 Palm Avenue in Hialeah, according to Local 10 and NBC 6.

According to the Hialeah Police arrest report, the woman entered the store with her two sons and sat on several beverage boxes. There, she allegedly grabbed the 7-year-old by the ears «and pulled them with force.» Then, she grabbed him by the hair and also pulled it with force. Later, according to the report, she took the 4-year-old by the ears and bit his right ear. NBC 6 reports that the video captures the children’s screams.

As she left, exterior cameras allegedly caught her hitting the two children in the face, according to Local 10 and NBC 6.

Hialeah Police Lieutenant Eddie Rodríguez told Local 10: «That’s one of the most cruel videos I’ve seen. It’s, in my opinion, a total betrayal of a mother’s love.» He added: «It’s heartbreaking to hear that child’s screams. You could tell the pain he was feeling.» He told WSVN: «It has broken everyone’s heart. It’s very difficult to watch.»

The manager who raised the alarm

Everything started because someone paid attention. According to NBC 6 and WSVN, the store manager reviewed the cameras the next day to see what had caused the commotion and, upon seeing the images, notified the police. His name is Fadi Malouf, according to CBS News Miami, cited by CiberCuba.

Malouf told CBS News Miami that, in two decades of observing parents correcting their children in his business, he had never heard screams like that, and that it’s not discipline. Lieutenant Rodríguez acknowledged his role in statements to NBC 6: «Thanks to him, who called the police.»

What happens now with her and the children

Officers arrested her on Thursday, November 5, near East First Avenue and 13th Street in Hialeah, when they saw her walking with the two children, according to NBC 6 and Local 10. WSVN reports that she denied other physical aggression against them.

In her first court appearance, a Miami-Dade Circuit Court judge set her bond at $5,000 ($2,500 per charge) and prohibited her from contacting her children, according to NBC 6 and WSVN. Local 10 reported that she was being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center. Additionally, according to records cited by Local 10 and NBC 6, she has a migrant detention order.

The children were placed under the custody of the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF). Police told Local 10 that they have different fathers and that one of them is out of the country, so they may end up separated.

What would you do if you see something like this?

It’s an uncomfortable question, but it’s worth asking before it happens. Intervene? Notify an employee? Record? Each situation is different, and no one wants to put themselves in danger. But in Florida, anyone can report suspicions of child abuse to the Florida Abuse Hotline of the DCF at 1-800-962-2873, or online at myflfamilies.com.

If you want to read more about similar cases, at MundoNow we discuss another Hialeah mother accused of chaining her daughter to a fence, the school bus driver arrested after dragging a 5-year-old boy, and the Oklahoma mother sentenced to seven life terms.

Sources: WPLG Local 10; NBC 6 South Florida; WSVN 7News; Florida Department of Children and Families: Abuse Hotline. Data consulted on November 10, 2026.