Handyman arrested after missing woman found dead in her septic tank, Florida cops say

The search for a missing Florida woman took a grisly turn when searchers discovered her body was hidden underfoot — in a backyard septic tank.

A cause of death for Cynthia Cole, 57, is expected to be found during an autopsy, Martin County Sheriff’s Office officials said.

She was last seen Feb. 24, while attending the Jammin Jensen festival in Jensen Beach, Florida, officials said in a Facebook post. Jensen Beach is about 50 miles north of West Palm Beach.

Her handyman, 34-year-old Keoki Hilo Demich, is a suspect in the case and has been charged with second degree murder, sheriff’s office officials said on March 5.

Martin County Sheriff William Snyder said they have yet to determine a motive.

“It was probably as challenging a crime scene as I’ve ever seen. I’ve been doing this 40-plus years. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Snyder said at a news conference posted online by WPTV.

“None of us had any experience in recovering evidence from a septic tank. ... It took us all night.”

Cole’s circle of friends reported her missing the last week of February, when she began missing appointments, he said. Nothing suspicious happened at the festival, and investigators believe she left the event and went straight home, Snyder said. It is believed she lived alone, he said.

“Those people never saw her again. And except for the gentlemen who ultimately killed her, maybe nobody saw her again,” Snyder said.

Detectives had to force entry into her home and found “no visible signs of violence,” Snyder said. However, there were signs of a renovation in progress, possibly as part of a planned bed and breakfast, he said.

“The first person that we really came across that was of interest ... was a person she had known, as far we know, for years. It was a handyman. Somebody who just helped her. She was a single woman alone, he helped her,” Snyder said.

“Fairly soon after we began talking to him, we became suspicious. ... We got so suspicious we began doing almost around the clock surveillance.”

A break in the case came March 4 when detectives found Cole’s 2015 gray Jeep Cherokee within “walking distance of where the handyman lived,” officials said.

Later that day, a detective visiting her home noticed the septic tank bolts “didn’t look right. The dirt was away from them and I think a couple of them were loose,” Snyder said.

“He just keeled down, undid that (cover), pulled it back and, unfortunately ... he did discover the body of our victim.”

The body was “submerged in the contents of the tank about four feet,” officials said. The septic was estimated at 800 to 900 gallons, officials said.

There were “clear signs of traumatic injuries to the victim,” Snyder said at a news conference posted by CBS 12. “There was multiple trauma.”

Among the evidence collected was video showing the handyman walking away from the victim’s car, officials said. He later admitted to driving the car to the location where it was found, Snyder said.

It is suspected she was killed “soon after getting home” from the festival, Snyder said.

Robbery is considered a possible motive, he said.

The suspect, who lives in the nearby city of Stuart, had a prior arrest for burglary in the state of Washington and is a registered sex offender in Washington, officials said.

This story was originally published March 7, 2022 at 8:26 AM with the headline "Handyman arrested after missing woman found dead in her septic tank, Florida cops say."