Murders of Lisa Fuillerat and Samara Routenberg

On the morning of February 24, 2017, at around 6:30 a.m., Vincente "Vince" P. Fuillerat broke into a home on Hickory Creek Drive in Brandon, Florida, wearing a bulletproof vest and armed with a shotgun. Inside were his estranged wife, Lisa Dawn Fuillerat, and her partner, Samara Routenberg. Security cameras at the home recorded Fuillerat's entry, and an alarm sounded shortly after he broke in. A gunfight followed, during which both women managed to wound Fuillerat several times before they were killed. Fuillerat then wrote a suicide note, pinned it to his vest, and killed himself with his own weapon. Lisa Fuillerat and Vincente Fuillerat had been scheduled to appear in divorce court that same day.

Lisa Dawn Fuillerat (née Nall) was born September 3, 1965, in Hialeah, Florida, and worked as a math teacher. She met Vincente Fuillerat in the 1990s, and the couple had two children, Michael and Amanda. They separated in 2014, at which point Lisa moved into the home of a colleague, Samara Routenberg, where she lived until her death.

Samara L. Routenberg was born December 27, 1977, in Harvey, Illinois. She worked as an assistant principal and testing coordinator, and formerly as a math teacher, receiving a Magna Cum Laude master's degree from Nova University in 2010. She worked at Lake Gibson Middle School in Lakeland, Florida, where both she and Lisa Fuillerat were employed, and where Routenberg served as Lisa's supervisor. Both women had been in a relationship for at least two years prior to the murders.

Vincente Fuillerat was born November 3, 1963, and worked as an electronic security consultant. After Lisa moved into Routenberg's home and began divorce proceedings, Fuillerat refused to sign divorce documents. On October 2, 2015, he broke into Routenberg's home, was confronted and expelled, then returned with a blunt object and struck Routenberg's face multiple times, slamming her head against the pavement. He was arrested and charged with aggravated battery and burglary, receiving 36 months' probation and an order to pay $6,040 in medical costs, as he had no prior Florida charges. Routenberg subsequently obtained a restraining order. Lisa filed for dissolution of marriage in Polk County on October 21, 2015, but the process was prolonged by Fuillerat's opposition. During this period, Lisa and Routenberg acquired firearms and practiced at shooting ranges.

The three bodies were discovered the following day. According to Fuillerat's suicide note and statements from his attorney, Ralph Fernandez, to the New York Post, Fuillerat's stated motives were jealousy and a sense of impotence regarding the relationship, reportedly saying he viewed it as immoral and that he "can't compete with that." The case was later covered in the Investigation Discovery series "Forbidden: Dying for Love," in an episode titled "The Sum of Love."