Courtesy: Martin County Sheriff’s Office

JENSEN BEACH, Fla. – A Florida handyman is facing murder charges after the body of 57-year-old Cynthia Cole was found submerged inside the septic tank of her Jensen Beach home, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s office.

Cole was last seen alive on Thursday, February 24, at an event in Downtown Jensen Beach.

According to the MCSO, detectives spent hours excavating Cole’s backyard late Friday night and early Saturday morning and located the body submerged in the contents of the tank about four feet underground.

Shortly afterward, detectives located and arrested 34-year-old Keoki Hilo Demich and charged him with second-degree murder. Demich performed handyman duties for Cole.

Courtesy: Martin County Sheriff’s Office

The medical examiner’s office is expected to positively identify the body shortly, but detectives say have every reason to believe it is that of Ms. Cole.

The case is still under investigation.

Courtesy: Martin County Sheriff’s Office

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Courtesy: Martin County Sheriff’s Office

JENSEN BEACH, Fla. – A Florida handyman is facing murder charges after the body of 57-year-old Cynthia Cole was found submerged inside the septic tank of her Jensen Beach home, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s office.

Cole was last seen alive on Thursday, February 24, at an event in Downtown Jensen Beach.

According to the MCSO, detectives spent hours excavating Cole’s backyard late Friday night and early Saturday morning and located the body submerged in the contents of the tank about four feet underground.

Shortly afterward, detectives located and arrested 34-year-old Keoki Hilo Demich and charged him with second-degree murder. Demich performed handyman duties for Cole.

Courtesy: Martin County Sheriff’s Office

The medical examiner’s office is expected to positively identify the body shortly, but detectives say have every reason to believe it is that of Ms. Cole.

The case is still under investigation.

Courtesy: Martin County Sheriff’s Office

The post Lacking Florida girl’s physique discovered inside septic tank, handyman charged with homicide appeared first on Los Gatos News And Events.

The body of a Florida woman was found by deputies in a septic tank buried in her backyard, and her handyman has been charged with killing her, authorities said Saturday.

Investigators in Jensen Beach, Florida found a body believed to be that of Cynthia Cole, submerged in the septic tank 4 feet (1.2 meters) underground after hours of excavating her back yard late Friday, the Martin County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.

Credit: MCSO – Cynthia Cole

Shortly after finding the body, deputies arrested her handyman, Keoki Hilo Demich, who was charged with second-degree murder. Cole, 57, had been missing for more than a week.

No further details were provided. Jensen Beach is almost 50 miles (80 kilometers) north of West Palm Beach.

“There are elements to this case still being investigated,” the post said. “We will update the community with additional information as it becomes available.”

There was no online court record available for Demich, so it was unknown if he had an attorney.

Credit: MCSO-Keoki Hilo Demich

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A handyman is facing second-degree murder charges after a missing Florida woman’s body was found in her backyard septic tank, the Miami Herald reports.

Investigators found the body of Cynthia Cole, 57, submerged four feet underground inside the septic tank of her home in Jensen Beach, Florida, about 50 miles north of West Palm Beach.

The discovery comes just two days after Cole was reported missing. She was last seen at a community music and arts event known as the Jammin’ Jensen in Downtown Jensen Beach on Feb. 24.

Shortly after finding Cole’s body, police arrested her handyman, 34-year-old Keoki Hilo Demich, who has been charged with second-degree murder.

“The first person that we really came across that was of interest was a person she had known, as far we know, for years. It was a handyman, somebody who just helped her,” Martin County Sheriff William Snyder told reporters this weekend. “She was a single woman alone, he helped her.”

Snyder added, “Fairly soon after we began talking to him, we became suspicious. We got so suspicious we started doing almost around the clock surveillance.”

According to Snyder, security footage showed Demich exiting Cole’s car near Demich’s home the same night that Cole was last seen.

“It was probably as challenging a crime scene as I’ve ever seen,” Snyder said. I’ve been doing this 40 plus years. I’ve never seen anything like it. None of us had any experience in recovering evidence from a septic tank. It took us all night.”

Snyder believes robbery could’ve been a possible motive.

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STANISLAUS COUNTY, Calif. (KTXL) — Detectives are looking for more victims of a handyman who allegedly broke into a Stanislaus County woman’s home Friday morning and sexually assaulted her.

Around 7:30 am, a woman reported waking up to someone in her home, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office said.

The woman told deputies a masked man armed with a handgun came into her bedroom, the sheriff’s office reported. He then tied her up, choked her and sexually assaulted her.

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Before leaving, the masked man stole the woman’s ATM card and threatened her, telling her not to call the police once he was gone.

The sheriff’s office said detectives with its Crimes Against Persons Unit determined the suspect was 40-year-old Jose Luis Ramos Rivera, a handyman who had worked for the woman for several months.

When she hired Rivera, the woman took a photo of his ID, which the sheriff’s office said helped “in his apprehension the same day he committed the crimes.”

Rivera was booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center and faces multiple charges, including robbery, home invasion and assault with the intent to commit rape.

Stanislaus County detectives said they believe Rivera may have more victims. They’ve asked anyone who was a victim or knows a victim to call Detective V. Esquivez at 209-567-4466. They can also make an anonymous tip by calling Crime Stoppers at 209-521-4636 or going to www.stancrimetips.org.

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STANISLAUS COUNTY, Calif. (KTXL) – Detectives are searching for additional victims of a handyman who allegedly broke into the home of a Stanislaus County woman on Friday morning and sexually assaulted her.

Around 7:30 a.m., a woman reported being woken up by someone at her home, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office said.

“This was absolutely a violation of the sanctity of their home,” Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Spokesman Sgt. Luke Schwartz told FOX40. “Something like this can happen at any time of the day or night.”

The woman told deputies a masked man armed with a pistol walked into her bedroom, the sheriff’s office reported. He then tied her up, choked her, and sexually assaulted her.

Before leaving, the masked man stole the woman’s ATM card and threatened her, telling her not to call the police once he left.

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“In the course of this follow-up investigation, this afternoon we were able to identify the individual responsible and arrest and hold that individual,” Schwartz said.

The sheriff’s office said detectives with the Crimes Against Persons Division determined the suspect was 40-year-old Jose Luis Ramos Rivera, a handyman who had worked for the woman for several months.

“It happened to be someone she had previously done business with,” Schwartz said.

When hiring Rivera, the woman snapped a photo of his ID, which the sheriff’s office said “helped his arrest on the same day he committed the crimes.”

Rivera was committed to the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center and faces multiple charges including robbery, home invasion, and assault with intent to commit rape.

Stephanie Barraza of the Haven Women’s Center-Stanislaus, an organization that works with sexual assault survivors, told FOX40 it was brave of the woman to come forward in this case.

“It’s brave when someone comes forward and speaks out about such a traumatic incident,” Barraza said. “It takes so much vulnerability to come forward and say, ‘Hey, you know, this happened to me and now, you know, I don’t want it to happen to anyone else.'”

The women’s center provides services for survivors.

“We meet them where they are, what they want to do, if it’s a restraining order, if it’s a safe place, for individual peer counseling,” Barraza said.

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Stanislaus County detectives said they believe Rivera may have more victims. However, they are not releasing Rivera’s mugshot because they said it could jeopardize future investigations.

They have asked anyone who has been or knows a victim to call Detective V. Esquivez at 209-567-4466. You can also submit an anonymous tip by calling Crime Stoppers at 209-521-4636 or by going to www.stancrimetips.org.

“We urge you to come forward and speak to our detectives so we can ensure he is held accountable,” Schwartz said.

Barraza has a message for any survivors who may be feeling isolated: you are not alone.

“Our job is to believe and to understand,” Barraza explained. “Nobody deserves to go through something like this and you don’t have to heal yourself. There is a community out there that can help.”

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DEAR JOHANNA: I now live with my mother and she has a 10 year old cat who played very little.

I play with her at night now and she runs around like crazy for a few minutes, what I’ve read is normal. However, she now vomits almost every three days.

When I go it stops. Why should that be? She is not afraid of me and regularly sleeps on my lap. My mother has now banned us from playing this season.

Please help us.

Denise M., San Francisco

LOVE DENISE: Your play with the cat isn’t the direct cause of vomiting, but contact with someone who interacts with them in such a positive way could have triggered other repressed behaviors, such as grooming, that could inadvertently have led to the problem. To know for sure, you should have the cat examined by a veterinarian to make sure there are no other hidden problems.

Happy and content cats groom a lot. With grooming comes hairballs and with hairballs, vomiting – usually the last place you want to vomit.

Continue to give the cat attention, but in addition to playtime, help her groom it. Get a cat grooming brush or comb, and when she is in your lap, gently comb her fur and help her remove any hair she is losing. If you get it on with the brush or comb, she won’t swallow it.

You could also try getting her a hairball remedy or giving her food or treats that are formulated to help.

DEAR JOHANNA: I have a hangover who is about a year old. He’s not neutered – no money for it. He kneads and clings to the pillow, blanket, or whatever he decides to secure his bite in place. He falls into a trance and when I stroke him he has a different meow. Sometimes he attacks me. He can be mean, almost evil.

Pamela Salacup, Yuba City

LOVE PAMELA: Your cat is not angry, it just focuses on the pillow, blanket, or whatever. Many cats bond with soft, squishy objects that they can knead or even suckle. They experience their childhood, so to speak, when they nursed and gently kneaded their mothers to promote more milk.

Your cat may be a little stressed and this activity will calm him down and bring him joy. He doesn’t want to attack you; he’s just knocking away the thing that’s trying to distract him.

If he attacks you while you are not interacting with him, then he may be trying to play and is being too aggressive. Both behaviors have their roots in being taken from mothers prematurely. Cat moms teach their kittens that play is allowed, but rough play is not. The other kittens in the litter also teach others. If they bite or scratch too hard, the offending kitten will hit them and learn to moderate their bite.

If your cat attacks, move away from the area. Try to play with him later, but only as long as he plays gently. If he gets aggressive, you get up and leave. At some point he will learn to play nice.

You should also never use your hand as a toy. Lots of people playfully grab a kitten and some sort of box with them. The kitten then grows into a cat who regards the hands as excellent play toys. Replace a stuffed toy and check with animal shelters and emergency services to see if they have a free or inexpensive spay / neuter clinic to take your cat to. Castration will help.

For other topics related to wild animals, gardens and backyards, sign up for our new, free Flora + Fauna newsletter.

Do you have a question for Johanna?

Use this form to ask questions. Photos should be sent separately to jmorris@bayareanewsgroup.com.

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