Fla. Couple Found Dead in Murder-Suicide Months After Man Made Threatening Comments About Woman
Facebook; Bradenton Beach Police
Authorities in Florida are investigating the death of a couple in what is believed to be a murder-suicide.
On Saturday, the bodies of Sabrina Dumdei and Zachary Winton were found in their Bradenton Beach home, a police official tells PEOPLE. The bodies were found by Dumdei's father after he went over to check on his daughter because he was unable to reach her, WWSB reports.
Bradenton Beach police believe the couple died in a murder-suicide. However, they have not said who they believe was the killer, or how the couple died.
“This is probably the most gruesome crime scene I’ve ever worked — the worst in 37 years that I’ve ever seen,” Det. Sgt. Lenard Diaz told the Anna Maria Island Sun. “It’s going to be really hard to put together what occurred, what the chronological events were that led up to the actual deaths. Going through the crime scene and photos, I’ll try to put something together, but it’s going to be speculation because there’s no witnesses and nobody saw anything.”
Diaz said the couple had sold the triplex they were living in the day before they were found dead. It remains unclear what the murder weapon was.
While neighbors said they heard no signs of a violent altercation on Friday or Saturday, they did recall hearing the couple argue loudly in the past, according to the Sun.
“We’ve had domestic incidents at this location,” Police Chief Sam Speciale told the paper.
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In late August, Winton was charged with three felony counts of domestic aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, false imprisonment and tampering with a witness, as well as one misdemeanor count of battery.
According to the probable cause affidavit obtained by the Sun, “While detained in the police department, Winton made numerous threatening remarks about what he was going to do to victim when he gets out, such as ‘I will kill her. She gonna pay. If I get charged with felonies, I’ll kill her then myself. I will cut her throat.'"
On Sunday, family and friends remembered Dumdei on social media.
"They say in life your best friend is always your cousin, well yesterday I found out I lost my best friend, but she was more than that she was also a classmate and family, I still don't believe it," cousin Brad Dumdei posted on Facebook. "Rest easy cousin and until we meet again I Love You Sabrina Dumdei."
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
