‘Radiant’ woman found strangled with zip tie, Florida cops say. Boyfriend now charged
A woman was found strangled to death with a zip tie in her Florida home in July, police say. Now, her live-in boyfriend is charged in her death.
Joysee Cartagena, 49, was a mother and former school employee whose employer called 911 for a welfare check in July, Inside Edition reported. Her employer said Cartagena worked remotely and had not checked in on July 17.
An unidentified caller went to her home and found Cartagena dead, according to a Sanford Police Department news release on July 31.
Around her neck was a large zip tie, police said.
An autopsy revealed her cause of death was “manual strangulation,” police said, and her death was ruled a homicide.
Joel Bauza, Cartagena’s 50-year-old live-in boyfriend, suggested to investigators that her death was a suicide, according to police.
“Bauza made efforts during the initial investigation to push this case towards a suicide investigation. Through the great work of the Lake County Medical Examiner’s Office and our Major Crimes Investigators, it was clear that Joysee didn’t take her own life,” Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith said in the release.
On Aug. 31, police took Bauza into custody and charged him with one count of first-degree homicide, according to an updated release.
“My mom was my world to me. That’s all I knew, and that’s all I wanted to know,” Cartagena’s son, Steven Rivera Cartagena, told WOFL. “Losing her, it just kind of made me feel like I was an orphan in a way. I was like, ‘What do I do?’”
Cartagena served in various roles in area school districts, the outlet reported, including as a secretary for Spring Lake Elementary School in Altamonte Springs and a clerk at Lawton Elementary School in Oviedo.
“She was a radiant woman who made a positive impact on so many lives in this community,” Smith said in the release. “We are saddened that Bauza’s actions took her from loved ones so prematurely.”
Sanford is about 20 miles northeast of Orlando.
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