Andrea Cantarini, 37, was allegedly shot dead by her partner in a murder-suicide in the Bronx. Now, her father has revealed what was being said during a 14-minute phone call shortly before her boyfriend, a federal agent, pulled the trigger.
Retired NYPD officer Rudy Cantarini recalled receiving a desperate call from his daughter Andrea, 37, at 8:47 p.m. Tuesday. During the call, she pleaded with him to save her as her boyfriend, Juan Cornelio Diaz, 38, allegedly shot her in the head before killing himself at her Riverdale apartment.
On Wednesday, her heartbroken father told the New York Post: “I was on the phone with her for 14 minutes…She was begging for her life.”
During the panicked phone call, she told her father: “He’s gonna kill me and he’s got a gun to my head.”
Cantarini said: “We tried and we begged, the both of us, to let her go.
“And he just wouldn’t listen.”
“She was begging for her life. She called me screaming, ‘He’s gonna kill me. He’s gonna kill me.’”
During the phone call, Cantarini tried to convince his daughter’s boyfriend to spare her life.
“Please do not, do not kill her, Juan. It’s not too late, Juan. Just let her go. It’s not too late. Let her go,” he recalls saying.
“And he killed her. And then he committed suicide.”
Andrea Cantarini’s dad was on the phone with her when she died
But then, he heard the gunshot that ended his daughter’s life through the phone – before her boyfriend uttered three words that will haunt him forever: “She’s gone, Rudy.”
“Those 14 minutes, it just keeps repeating over and over again in my head,” he explained.
“I have to live with this the rest of my life,” Cantarini added. “She was the apple of my eye.”
Now, the heartbroken family is mourning the young nurse, who was also a mother.
“She was a great mother, a great mother. She was a beautiful kid, family oriented, domesticated,” Cantarini told the New York Post. “She learned everything, you know. We raised her to be a responsible adult.”
Where to get help
On the topic of mental health, don’t be afraid to ask for help. If you, or someone you know, is struggling, you can call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org. You can also reach the Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741, or contact the SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline at 1-800-985-5990.
If your distress feels unbearable, or if you have suicidal thoughts or plans, contact a psychiatric emergency unit immediately or call 911.
For more information about available resources, visit Mental Health America at mhanational.org.
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