Andrea Cantarini contacted her father during the confrontation before police found her and boyfriend Juan Cornelio Diaz dead.
NEW YORK — The father of a Bronx nurse was on the phone as she sought help during a confrontation with her boyfriend Tuesday night, shortly before police found the couple fatally shot inside her Riverdale apartment, according to police sources and the woman’s family.
Andrea Cantarini, 37, and Juan Cornelio Diaz, 38, were found dead shortly after 9 p.m. Nov. 3 in the Blackstone Avenue apartment. Investigators believe Diaz fatally shot Cantarini and then died by suicide, according to law enforcement sources. The deaths were being investigated as an apparent murder-suicide connected to a domestic dispute, though police had not announced a final investigative finding.
Cantarini’s father, Rudy Cantarini, later said his daughter called him while Diaz was threatening her with a gun. He remained on the phone with her for about 14 minutes as he tried to get help, according to his account published after the shooting. Law enforcement sources said the father contacted 911 while still connected with his daughter.
Reports citing police sources said the father heard his daughter screaming and what sounded like gunshots before the call ended. Officers from the 50th Precinct responded to the Riverdale building, where they found Cantarini and Diaz with gunshot wounds to the head. Emergency medical workers pronounced both dead at the scene, and investigators recovered a firearm.
Rudy Cantarini said his daughter had been considering ending the relationship, according to published interviews. He also said there had been a confrontation earlier Tuesday involving Diaz and a gun. Police had not publicly confirmed every detail of the father’s account, and investigators had not released a complete timeline of the couple’s final day.
The couple shared a 6-year-old daughter. Neighbors told News 12 that the child was not in the apartment when the fatal shooting occurred. Cantarini’s relatives said she was devoted to her daughter, while neighbors described her as friendly and helpful. She worked as a nurse after previously working in mental health care, according to reports about her professional background.
Diaz was an officer with U.S. Customs and Border Protection assigned to John F. Kennedy International Airport. The federal agency acknowledged that one of its New York Field Office officers was involved in an apparent murder-suicide and said it was cooperating with the NYPD.
Neighbors said the couple had recently moved to a larger apartment within or near the same Riverdale complex. Several residents described the pair as outwardly friendly, underscoring how little neighbors said they knew about the conflict that investigators believe preceded the deaths. Some residents also reported hearing arguments or seeing Cantarini upset before the shooting.
The NYPD continued investigating the deaths Thursday. No arrests had been announced, and authorities had not released a final public determination detailing the sequence of events inside the apartment or confirming a motive.
Author note: Last updated November 5, 2026.