Handyman Hid Missing Woman's Body In Septic Tank Buried At Victim's Home

A handyman has been accused of hiding the body of a Florida woman who vanished in late February inside a septic tank buried in the victim's own backyard.

The woman, Cynthia Cole, 57, was reportedly last seen alive on Feb. 24 when she went to the Jammin’ Jensen event with several of her friends in Jensen Beach, about an hour north of West Palm Beach on the east coast of the state, Daily News reported.

Following the woman's disappearance, detectives said that 34-year-old Keoki Hilo Demich, who has served as Cole's handyman over the last few years, was the only person they were suspicious of after the victim was reported missing.

The detectives reportedly found ring cameras and security footage that showed Demich exiting Cole’s car near the suspect's home along Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard in Stuart, the same night when Cole went missing. According to Martin County Sheriff William Snyder, there were other instances of cameras catching Demich near Cole's vehicle.

“He made several statements that we know are false so he was charged with second-degree murder,” Sheriff Snyder said.

On Friday, March. 4, the officers arrested Demich and charged him with second-degree murder. Demich is expected to face more charges as the investigation into the incident continues, WPBF reported.

After arresting Demich, deputies then went back to Cole’s home located on the 4500 block of NE Skyline Drive. At Cole's residence, officers noticed that the top of the septic tank located in the backyard of the house looked out of place. When law enforcement opened the septic tank to take a look inside, they found Cole's body submerged inside the reservoir.

Following the gruesome discovery, the officers then spent the whole night digging and pulled Cole's body out of the septic tank on Saturday morning, March 5.

Cole’s cause of death has not yet been publicly released. However, Sheriff Snyder says that she was likely murdered inside her Jensen Beach house and was then taken out to the septic tank to be buried some four feet in the ground.

“I’ve been doing this 40-plus years. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Snyder said.

The officers are awaiting positive identification of the body by the medical examiner's office. However, they say that they have every reason to believe that what they discovered is Cole's remains.