In a tragic turn of events, Joel Bauza, a 50-year-old Florida man, has been arrested in connection with the death of his girlfriend, 49-year-old Joysee Cartagena. On July 17, 2023, Cartagena was discovered lifeless in her Sanford home, her life cut short by manual strangulation, according to authorities, who have now officially charged Bauza with first-degree homicide.
The alarm was initially raised by Joysee’s employer, who reported her untimely demise after making the grim discovery in the 3000 block of Saltmarsh Loop. Responding to the scene, police officers were shocked to find Cartagena with a zip tie around her neck.
Sanford Police Chief Cecil Smith described the immediate response, saying, “Sanford Fire and Rescue advised upon their arrival they found Joysee inside her home with a large zip-tie around her neck.” Despite the swift actions of authorities and paramedics in attempting to revive her, Cartagena was tragically pronounced dead at the scene.
Initially, Joel Bauza, who shared the residence with the victim, asserted that Joysee had taken her own life. However, law enforcement harbored doubts from the outset, suspecting foul play in the circumstances surrounding her death.
Finally, on Thursday, August 31, 2023, after an autopsy unequivocally determined that Joysee had been manually strangled and that her death was, in fact, a homicide, Joel Bauza was taken into custody. A judge subsequently denied him bond, as reported by Law&Crime.
Police Chief Smith commented on the case, stating, “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.”
Joysee Cartagena, who held positions as a secretary at Spring Lake Elementary School in Altamonte Springs and as a clerk at Lawton Elementary School in Oviedo, leaves behind a heartbroken family and community. Her son, Steven Rivera Cartagena, a university student, expressed his devastation, describing his mother as his world and expressing his determination to honor her memory by becoming a doctor.
“My mom was my world to me. That’s all I knew, and that’s all I wanted to know. Losing her, it just kind of made me feel like I was an orphan in a way. I was like, ‘What do I do?’” he said.
Joysee, originally from Puerto Rico, is survived by her mother, son, and three siblings. Her obituary lovingly describes her as a “shine of light in everyone’s day.”
Categories: News
Source: vothisaucamau.edu.vn
