Detectives hope ring, reward will lead to dead woman’s identity
A grimy, diamond-studded ring is one of the last remnants of a life that Orange County Sheriff ’s Office detectives have to go on to figure out the identity of a woman found severely decomposed in a Tymberskan apartment last week.
Investigators hope the ring — with its golden center lined with diamonds sandwiched between two metal bands engraved with small circles — will jog the memory of the mystery woman’s loved ones, Sheriff ’s Office spokeswoman Jane Watrel said.
A stepfather and his stepson tipped off investigators Aug. 8 when they went to visit an apartment they owned in the 4100 block of Tymberwood Lane. They hadn’t been to the property in about a year, and a foul scent filling the home prompted them to call 911, she said.
Deputies found a dead woman inside, but the sweltering Florida heat and humidity had done no favors for investigators hoping to identify her — or even establish an approximate time of her death, Detective Brian Savelli said.
“With the environment and how the condo was with no electricity, there’s no way for me to even begin to make a timeline on that,” he said. “There’s too many factors.”
To crack the mystery, the Sheriff ’s Office is doing something they traditionally reserve for finding murder suspects. They’re offering up to $5,000 to anyone who can provide information leading to the woman’s identity.
“Usually that’s given for a homicide, but we’re just hoping that by increasing the reward to $5,000, it will help,” Watrel said.
Investigators don’t know whether the woman’s death was suspicious.
The Orange County Medical Ex-
aminer’s Office has yet to determine what caused her to die, and Watrel said it could take some time before they know.
“Right now it still is a death investigation and we don’t know what her lifestyle was,” she said. “We’re still waiting because the body was so decomposed, we’re waiting for the medical examiner. It’s not going to be an easy thing for them.”
Neighbors in the Tymberskan Apartments have been cooperative, but none have said they know anything about the woman, Savelli said.
Watrel said it will aid the investigation of what killed the woman once detectives know her name.
“Once we find out who it is, then records can be pulled and we can look at lifestyle,” she said. “That’s why the identity is so important.”
Savelli said he believes the woman was about 5 feet, 3 inches tall with dark hair. Detectives don’t know how much she weighed.
The diamond-studded ring was found on her left hand, Watrel said. They also found two other items of body jewelry with her remains, one of which they believe was a tongue ring. Investigators don’t know where the other jewelry belonged.
Once the woman is identified, detectives will notify her family and move forward by establishing where she was living and what kind of life she led.
Anyone with information on the case should call Crimeline at 800-423-8477. Tipsters can remain anonymous.