A federal jury in Florida has convicted two men in a chilling case of kidnapping and murder that began in Opa-Locka, a suburb of Miami. The horrifying incident took place on December 5, 2020, when James Edward Daniels, 59, and Frederick Eugene Rudolph, 69, abducted three people from a truck yard. What followed was a terrifying chain of events that left two victims dead and one miraculously alive.
Daniels and Rudolph, along with others, forced the victims into the back of a rented U-Haul van. Their eyes were duct-taped shut, and they were tortured as the suspects stole drugs from them, according to prosecutors. For hours, the victims were driven around Miami, helpless and terrified, before the van stopped at an abandoned house. There, the men tried to execute all three victims.
Two of the victims, Osmar Oliva, 50, and Johan Gonzalez Quesada, 26, tragically lost their lives. The third victim, whose name was not disclosed, survived despite critical injuries and was airlifted to the hospital. Miami-Dade police later confirmed that the victims had been tied up during their ordeal. Daniels also took jewelry from one of the victims, prosecutors said.
The jury found Daniels and Rudolph guilty of conspiracy to commit kidnapping resulting in death, multiple counts of kidnapping resulting in death, and kidnapping. They now face the possibility of life in prison when they are sentenced on March 10. A third man, 56-year-old Herbert Barr, has already pleaded guilty to kidnapping.
This case isn’t the first time Daniels and Rudolph have faced the law. In July 2022, both were indicted on unrelated drug distribution charges. Rudolph was sentenced to 11 years in prison earlier this year, while Daniels received just under three years. Daniels has a criminal record spanning 40 years, and Rudolph was on probation for a drug-related charge when the murders happened.
The horrifying events of that night in Opa-Locka have left a lasting impact, not just on the victims’ families but also on the community. This case serves as a grim reminder of the devastating consequences of crime.
