Detectives now say the brutal killing of a Miami teen in a Brickell high-rise was a murder-suicide, and a newly released investigative file lays out how they reached that conclusion in stark detail. Dominic Ferrell, 17, was attacked while he slept in a 34th-floor unit at the Icon Residences in the early hours of June 8, 2025. The person police say killed him was later found dead at a nearby construction site. The case has reignited uncomfortable questions about building access and security at one of Brickell’s marquee condo towers.
What the investigative file found
A 31-page investigative report concluded there was proof beyond a reasonable doubt that 26-year-old Kyrill Kehl was Ferrell’s killer, and that Kehl later died by suicide after plunging from a neighboring construction crane. The report says Ferrell was stabbed 94 times with a kitchen knife. Officers recovered a steel kitchen knife tied to the unit, along with the victim’s unit fob and key on Kehl, and a bloodhound tracked a suspected blood trail from the condo to the construction site. The medical examiner documented severe hand injuries consistent with repeated stabbing, and toxicology on Kehl showed traces of methamphetamine, amphetamine and kratom compounds, according to the Miami Herald.
How investigators say he reached the floor
Surveillance video and witness accounts indicate Kehl rode an elevator to the building’s 15th-floor Tulum rooftop bar, then came back down to the lobby, investigators say. From there, he allegedly tailed residents who scanned their key fob to reach higher floors and tried multiple doors in the tower. The report says he lingered in the lobby for hours and even interacted with Miami Fire Rescue personnel but, according to investigators, was never stopped or questioned by building security. Those access and movement details were reported by NBC6.
Trail to the crane and the fall
A K9 bloodhound followed what police described as a blood trail from Ferrell’s unit, through the building’s loading dock and over to a nearby construction site at 77 SE Fifth Street, where Kehl’s body was later found. Miami Police said the suspect fled the scene and was discovered dead on a lower floor of the under-construction building. The department said the circumstances of his death remain part of an ongoing investigation but that there was no continuing threat to the public. The police release provides contact information for the Homicide Unit for anyone with tips, according to the Miami Police.
Suspect's behavior before the attack
According to the detectives’ file, Kehl had displayed increasingly troubling behavior in the days leading up to the killing, prompting multiple wellness checks at a Coconut Grove Airbnb. Officers reported finding cryptic handwritten notes pinned to a wall with kitchen knives, and the reservation was canceled after back-to-back police visits to the rental. Those details come from reporting on the investigative file by the Miami Herald.
Family reaction and the lawsuit
Dominic’s mother, Christine Maron, has publicly blamed what she describes as lax security at the Icon Residences, and the family has pursued civil claims against the building’s owners and management. Local reporting shows the parents filed a negligent-security wrongful-death lawsuit in September seeking damages and alleging that the building’s access controls were inadequate, and the family's press conference and legal plans were highlighted last summer. Residents and lawyers say the case has underscored how mixed-use towers, with hotel guests, short-term rentals and full-time residents, can complicate access and oversight.
What police say now
Miami Police say they relied on physical evidence, witness statements and extensive surveillance footage to reach their conclusions, and the department has repeated a public request for anyone with information to contact investigators. The Miami Police release again urges people to secure their homes and lists the Homicide Unit and Crime Stoppers contact details for tips. Family attorneys say they plan to keep pressing for answers through the civil case while residents continue to push building management for changes.
