Florida man accused of dumping his elderly mother's body into a river, officials say
A North Fort Myers man is accused of dumping his mother's body into a river, according to the Lee County and Charlotte County Sheriff's Offices.
The sheriffs of both counties announced the arrest of 47-year-old Joshua Cullen at a joint news conference on Wednesday.
Cullen is accused of transporting his mother's deceased body from Lee County to Charlotte County, wrapping her in a rug, weighing it down with cinder blocks, and disposing of it in the river.
"What began as a missing person investigation soon revealed a web of lies, deception, and a shocking disregard for human dignity," said Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno.
According to a Facebook post by the Lee County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to a home in North Fort Myers on May 25th to take a missing person's report from Cullen. The post said Cullen told deputies that his mother had suffered a stroke, was hospitalized, or had left with an unidentified wealthy man, claiming he hadn't seen her since March.
As detectives tried to determine where she could be, they learned that the Charlotte County Sheriff's Office had discovered human remains on March 29th near the Peace River.
"A group of boaters saw something large submerged in the water. We responded and located a woman wrapped in carpet, bound tightly and weighed down by cinder blocks and chains," said Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell.
On Wednesday, the medical examiner in Charlotte County positively identified the remains as Cullen's missing mother.
Preliminary investigation also connected Cullen to the disposal site, with detectives using license plate reader technology to capture Cullen's vehicle traveling toward Hunters Creek. Detectives say he had a wheelbarrow secured to the roof, which they later determined was the same one that was found near the woman's body when it was recovered.
"We believe the woman died inside the home, and Cullen continued living alongside her deceased body. This sorry excuse for a man left this woman exposed, discarded, and alone while he selfishly carried on with his life," said Sheriff Carmine Marceno.
Cullen is facing charges of neglect of an elderly person and abuse of a dead human body. His total bond was set at $50,000, according to the Lee County Sheriff's booking website.