REMEMBER Laura
Laura Paige Candia
20 YEARS OLD ·
Immokalee,
Florida
Laura Paige Candia was a 20-year-old mother whose young daughter, Melanie, was central to her life. Born in Lehigh Acres, Florida, Laura had connections to both Immokalee, Florida, and Attalla, Alabama. She enjoyed baking and, according to her obituary, treasured every moment she could spend with her daughter. Laura left behind her daughter, her parents and stepmother, and three siblings. Her family later joined the Immokalee community in remembering her during a candlelight vigil for victims of domestic violence.
Laura was born February 7, 2003, to Hienio Candia and Maggie Montez in Lehigh Acres, Florida. She enjoyed baking in her free time, but her obituary particularly emphasized the time she spent with her daughter, Melanie. She was survived by her father Hienio Candia, mother Maggie Montez, stepmother Maria Lara, daughter Melanie Maldonado, and siblings Nathan Candia, Angelina Candia, and Jayden Candia.
Following Laura’s death, five generations of her family participated in a candlelight vigil in Immokalee. Family members wore purple shirts bearing Laura’s photograph and gathered with the community to remember both Laura and other people killed by domestic violence in Collier County.
THE RECORD
On September 16, 2023, Laura was riding as a passenger in a vehicle driven by her great-grandmother, Olga Welch, in Immokalee. According to court and law-enforcement records cited in subsequent reporting, Maldonado deliberately struck their vehicle with his own, causing them to crash. He then fired repeatedly into their vehicle.
Laura was killed at the scene. Welch survived despite sustaining 17 gunshot wounds and was transported for emergency medical treatment. The Shelter reports that more than 30 shots were fired during the attack
RELATIONSHIP CONTEXT
Ex-boyfriend / father of her daughter
Michael Anthony Maldonado was Laura’s former boyfriend and the father of her daughter. The Shelter for Abused Women & Children identifies Maldonado as Laura’s abuser and records Laura as a domestic violence homicide victim. Available sources reviewed establish that the relationship had ended before Laura was killed, but they do not provide sufficient detail to document specific earlier incidents of physical violence, stalking, strangulation, threats, or coercive control.
CHILDREN / ADDITIONAL VICTIMS
CHILDREN PRESENT — DOCUMENTED NO
ADDITIONAL VICTIMS
ADDITIONAL VICTIMS DOCUMENTED
Laura’s great-grandmother, Olga Welch, was driving the vehicle in which Laura was riding. Maldonado struck their vehicle and then fired repeatedly into it. Welch survived after sustaining 17 gunshot wounds and requiring emergency medical treatment.
PATTERNS DOCUMENTED IN AVAILABLE RECORDS
These indicators reflect what could be established from available sources. Absence from this list does not establish that a behavior did not occur.
LEGAL / SYSTEM RESPONSE
Collier County deputies located Maldonado shortly after the shooting. Investigators also located the suspected vehicle and reported finding shell casings inside it. Maldonado was taken into custody and booked into jail. Contemporary reporting states that he was subsequently indicted in connection with Laura’s killing and the attack on Welch
INFORMATION LIMITATIONS
Available sources establish the former intimate-partner relationship, Laura’s motherhood, the circumstances of the homicide, and the attack on her great-grandmother. They do not provide sufficient evidence to establish specific pre-homicide incidents of prior IPV, protective orders, prior system contact, strangulation, stalking, threats to kill, coercive control, escalating violence, prior firearm or weapon threats, threats involving others, or self-harm/suicide threats.
TRANSPARENCY / RECORD NOTE
The Collier County arrest database documents Maldonado’s September 2023 bookings and a Lee County hold. The displayed record should not be interpreted as evidence of prior IPV or prior system contact involving Laura without additional court or law-enforcement records establishing the underlying circumstances.
REMEMBER Laura.
Every statistic had a name. Every name had a life.
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