FL FL - Man Buy Foreclosed House--Finds Body Inside

[PastTense]

Longtime Cape Coral resident William Wilson, 61, acquired the worn light pink house on SE 19th Lane at auction Tuesday for $96,000. The house has rusted iron gates on each window and every entrance.

He arrived Wednesday morning to evaluate his purchase, trim the hedges and mow the lawn. What he found inside was a body....

Authorities told Wilson the most recent piece of mail was from November of 2011 and unpaid taxes went back three years. The corpse was on the floor of the master bedroom next to the bed. Longtime neighbors say an older woman from Miami last lived at the home with her sister, but they hadn't seen or heard from her for several years. She was described as nice, but reclusive.

http://www.news-press.com/story/new...s-foreclosed-home-finds-body-inside/18557093/

Probably another sad case of someone not cared about by their relatives and neighbors.

 

[HMSHood]

That is pretty scary and sad at the same time.

 

[cuffem]

I was born and raised in Florida.Because it is a transient state with people coming and going during seasons,most people keep to themselves and do not get into anyones business.

 

[teeandcee]

I was born and raised in Florida.Because it is a transient state with people coming and going during seasons,most people keep to themselves and do not get into anyones business.

Born and raised in Florida as well. You've described it to a tee.

 

[Nova]

Also born and raised in Florida. I always assumed people kept to themselves to avoid other Floridians!

But I must say it's peaceful and relaxing here in California now that Florida has taken our title as Land of the Weird.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.news-press.com/story/news/local/cape-coral/2014/11/07/yet-body-found-dwelling/18687019/

And so it goes, time passed by and neighbors assumed either the light pink structure was vacant or someone died inside. It was built by two sisters from Miami.

As of three or four years ago, there was one sister left. That was the last time most remember seeing her. Her name was Carmen Garcia-Viso. Born in 1937, she would be 77 today...

Law enforcement took personal information from the home to assist in their search for family, Wilson said.

 

[OkieGranny]

http://www.news-press.com/story/new...-cape-coral-corpse-remains-nameless/23799459/

Three months later, detectives with Cape Coral Police Department haven’t identified the body. Until this occurs, the deceased cannot be laid to rest...

The house belonged to Carmen Garcia-Viso, a Cuban-American, and her partner, Ines Garcia. Neighbors believed they were sisters, but the police recently confirmed they’d been in a relationship. Garcia-Viso came to the United States in 1983, three years after the Mariel Boatlift brought thousands of Cubans from the island. Even less is known about Ines, who died in 2005...

“We made almost 100 phone calls to different contacts in her address book,” said Cape Coral Detective Erica Pickett. “Some didn’t answer, others hadn’t talked to her in three years... most were friends with one or two distant relatives.” Records have been requested from immigration and tissue samples sent to a forensic scientist in Orlando who is using a redehydration process on the highly decomposed but mummified remains.

 

[mrsobrien]

This is so sad. :-(

 

[Jan]

Doesn't anyone go through the house and look it over and evaluate or appraise it before it is sold?

 

[atthelake]

http://www.news-press.com/story/new...s-foreclosed-home-finds-body-inside/18557093/

Probably another sad case of someone not cared about by their relatives and neighbors.

I had an experience with this in my neighborhood. A woman who was estranged from her daughter died in a house and no one noticed for 6 months. the police were finally called by the homeowners association to do a check because her lawn was not being kept up.

Sent from my SCH-S720C using Tapatalk 2

 

[panthera]

Doesn't anyone go through the house and look it over and evaluate or appraise it before it is sold?

That is exactly my question. If it is in foreclosure or auctioned for unpaid property taxes, I would think that someone would have at least entered the house to make sure no one (deceased) was inside. Or is it like "Storage Wars" where the contents of storage units are auctioned off sight-unseen?

So sad for the poor woman who is deceased that no one checked....and three years later she is found under such circumstances.



MOO

 

[Moshimo]

The new owner bought the home at an auction. It was being sold due to unpaid taxes.
Apparently still unidentified. Can't the police do DNA testing to see if it is the previous home owner? What happened to the belongings that were in the home, surely they hold clues such as relatives?

edit: I can see why DNA testing may no longer be an option..
http://www.news-press.com/story/news/local/cape-coral/2014/11/07/yet-body-found-dwelling/18687019/

nevertheless, I get the feeling that this was just pushed into a drawer and closed. Rather frightening considering some of the circumstances..
- Remains unidentified
- The home was built by two sisters. "As of three or four years ago, there was one sister left. That was the last time most remember seeing her. Her name was Carmen Garcia-Viso."
- The house was built with iron bars on doors and windows, the front door having four deadbolt locks, apparently the reason no one was able to get inside the home to check on the owner over the years
- The man who bought the home and discovered the corpse "found Garcia-Viso's Social Security card and driver's license in a bottom drawer by the bed. He'd found the body on the floor of the master bedroom. Wilson said it looked like she'd been packing boxes to move, yet she lived her daily existence in a home full of stuff. There was no sign of a purse or wallet. Just junk mail, doctor's bills and medications and a few trinkets. Wilson hoped a personal letter could hold a clue to lead them to a friend or relative and found it strange that she didn't have any keepsakes."
- "The Postal Service has not delivered mail to 1130 SE 19th Lane in Cape Coral for three years." "Who stopped the mail? Or who forwarded it? That information is not public record, said Enola C. Rice with the U.S. Postal Service corporate communications."
- partial LE search.. "Law enforcement took personal information from the home to assist in their search for family, Wilson said. They encouraged him to let them know what he found as he sifted through remnants."
..all via http://www.news-press.com/story/news/local/cape-coral/2014/11/07/yet-body-found-dwelling/18687019/

- next-door neighbor Liz Palma "said she believed the owner died, her daughter lives in the Miami area.."
http://www.news-press.com/story/new...s-foreclosed-home-finds-body-inside/18557093/

So to summarize, we have two sisters, one of who disappeared from the story about the same time the other disappeared from public view. The home was full of junk but the lack of keepsakes was considered puzzling. The body cannot be identified. Someone told the post office to stop delivering or forward mail around the time both sisters left the story but the P.O. won't tell the public who made the change. The person who found the body said it looked like she was packing to move.
So in short.. we have no idea if it was the previous home owner or her sister that was actually found? If the neighbor is correct that the previous home owner has a daughter on the Miami area, the daughter's absence from the narrative seems conspicuous.
Honestly, I don't feel that great about suggesting foul play could have been involved but on the other hand, knowing that the remains were never identified, I feel it is somewhat of a disservice to leave this case cold considering the abundance of information that was available. Just my opinion.

 

[PayrollNerd]

Maybe the occupant/deceased was the last of the family line. I don't have an Ancestry subscription or I'd look for a family tree based on the name. Someone could have added them with notes as to deaths or decedents.

 

[Susikatze]

Umm you can do DNA testing on those remains, imho. Bug and other animal activity does not count. There should be long bones and teeth and prob hair left. You drill deeply into bone or hair and usually get a viable sample.
Id venture a guess that at this point LE may still think she can eventually be IDD via tracing her sisters and daughters whereabouts and does not feel DNA is a priority right now.

Jmoo

 

[Laughing]

Similar but resolved situation in Texas:

Identified! - TX - Fort Worth, WhtMale, 57-70, UP93072, Skeletal remains found in master closet of residence, Aug 21 - Gordon Randall Johns

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) Date Body Found August 29,2021 Location Found Forth Worth, Texas Estimated Age Range 57-70 years Sex Female Race/Ethnicity White/Caucasian Possible First Name Gordon Possible Middle Name Randall Possible Last Name Johns Estimated Age...

www.websleuths.com

FamilySearch shows Carmen Garcia-Viso in Miami in 2006 & 2007. One record lists a birth year of 1936, the other provides 7 June 1937 as her date of birth. I have essentially no experience with genealogy with Hispanic/Latino people -- was this lady born Carmen Garcia, or Carmen Viso? Does the hyphenated surname indicate a marriage? @LotsaLatte , any input here? Knowing the birth surname might help us find the sister as well as the daughter.

Google produces this: https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/news-press/name/carmen-viso-obituary?id=34053686

Mystifying, imho this implies that the un-named sister was found deceased in the house?

These are often junk, but can provide interesting info:

https://www.fastpeoplesearch.com/carmen-viso_id_G6907958841587119921

Ah, genealogy, where we confuse the dead & irritate the living!

Buyer's name, a little mre information about the purchase of the house:

Man buys Florida house, finds corpse on bedroom floor

William Wilson bought the home on SE 19th Lane for $96,000 and went over to the home on Tuesday to mow the lawn and trim the hedges when he found the body next to the master bedroom bed.

www.dailymail.co.uk

You'd think there would be some procedure after the second call for mowing? Even the first, if contact with the resident cannot be established?

In the Florida house, when were the utilities shut off, electricity & water? To whom were the bills addressed?

And -- what did the unfortunate buyer do with the house?

jmho ymmv lrr

 

[charminglane]

Did the person that had mail stopped request a change of address we are not privy to to receive decedents checks?

 

[Teignmouth 22]

Similar but resolved situation in Texas:

Identified! - TX - Fort Worth, WhtMale, 57-70, UP93072, Skeletal remains found in master closet of residence, Aug 21 - Gordon Randall Johns

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) Date Body Found August 29,2021 Location Found Forth Worth, Texas Estimated Age Range 57-70 years Sex Female Race/Ethnicity White/Caucasian Possible First Name Gordon Possible Middle Name Randall Possible Last Name Johns Estimated Age...

www.websleuths.com

FamilySearch shows Carmen Garcia-Viso in Miami in 2006 & 2007. One record lists a birth year of 1936, the other provides 7 June 1937 as her date of birth. I have essentially no experience with genealogy with Hispanic/Latino people -- was this lady born Carmen Garcia, or Carmen Viso? Does the hyphenated surname indicate a marriage? @LotsaLatte , any input here? Knowing the birth surname might help us find the sister as well as the daughter.
...

I'm not Spanish, but my understanding is that Spanish children get their Dad's surname first and their mother's second. I believe this also applies to Hispanic/Latino families. If that's the case here then Carmen's father's surname would be Garcia and mother's Viso; most examples I've seen are not hyphenated. Apparently the name does not change upon marriage.

Examples: Penélope Cruz Sanchez (the Spanish actress Penélope Cruz), Emiliano Sala Taffarel (the late Argentine footballer Emiliano Sala - R.I.P.)

If I've got any of this wrong - please feel free to correct me!

A very sad occurrence at the house. R.I.P.

 

[Izzylizzy]

The new owner bought the home at an auction. It was being sold due to unpaid taxes.
Apparently still unidentified. Can't the police do DNA testing to see if it is the previous home owner? What happened to the belongings that were in the home, surely they hold clues such as relatives?

edit: I can see why DNA testing may no longer be an option..
Without family, remains found in Cape Coral home may be buried at sea

nevertheless, I get the feeling that this was just pushed into a drawer and closed. Rather frightening considering some of the circumstances..
- Remains unidentified
- The home was built by two sisters. "As of three or four years ago, there was one sister left. That was the last time most remember seeing her. Her name was Carmen Garcia-Viso."
- The house was built with iron bars on doors and windows, the front door having four deadbolt locks, apparently the reason no one was able to get inside the home to check on the owner over the years
- The man who bought the home and discovered the corpse "found Garcia-Viso's Social Security card and driver's license in a bottom drawer by the bed. He'd found the body on the floor of the master bedroom. Wilson said it looked like she'd been packing boxes to move, yet she lived her daily existence in a home full of stuff. There was no sign of a purse or wallet. Just junk mail, doctor's bills and medications and a few trinkets. Wilson hoped a personal letter could hold a clue to lead them to a friend or relative and found it strange that she didn't have any keepsakes."
- "The Postal Service has not delivered mail to 1130 SE 19th Lane in Cape Coral for three years." "Who stopped the mail? Or who forwarded it? That information is not public record, said Enola C. Rice with the U.S. Postal Service corporate communications."
- partial LE search.. "Law enforcement took personal information from the home to assist in their search for family, Wilson said. They encouraged him to let them know what he found as he sifted through remnants."
..all via Without family, remains found in Cape Coral home may be buried at sea

- next-door neighbor Liz Palma "said she believed the owner died, her daughter lives in the Miami area.."
Body found in Cape Coral home remains a mystery

So to summarize, we have two sisters, one of who disappeared from the story about the same time the other disappeared from public view. The home was full of junk but the lack of keepsakes was considered puzzling. The body cannot be identified. Someone told the post office to stop delivering or forward mail around the time both sisters left the story but the P.O. won't tell the public who made the change. The person who found the body said it looked like she was packing to move.
So in short.. we have no idea if it was the previous home owner or her sister that was actually found? If the neighbor is correct that the previous home owner has a daughter on the Miami area, the daughter's absence from the narrative seems conspicuous.
Honestly, I don't feel that great about suggesting foul play could have been involved but on the other hand, knowing that the remains were never identified, I feel it is somewhat of a disservice to leave this case cold considering the abundance of information that was available. Just my opinion.

No forwarding address so was the mail piled up from 2011-2014?
Was the electric turned off?
The lawn not mowed and taxes in arrears and by 2014 no one thought of doing a welfare check?

What Is a Police Welfare Check? | The Law Dictionary​

Black's Law Dictionary
https://thelawdictionary.org › article › what-is-a-polic...



No court order is required for the police to conduct a welfare check. Essentially, as long as they have reasonable grounds to believe that an inhabitant in a .