Elderly woman found dead in ransacked home

MIAMI (WSVN) -- Police continue to investigate the death of an elderly woman who was found dead in her ransacked South Florida home.

Friday afternoon, City of Miami Police units were called out to the scene at Northwest 34th Street and First Avenue. Police said the victim's adult son arrived to his mother's house to find her body in the bathroom wrapped in a blanket. The house had been ransacked.

Police are not calling this a homicide, but they are calling the woman's death suspicious. The Medical Examiner's office is inside the home to determine the cause of her death.

Miami Police spokesperson Kenia Reyes said, "It appears there is some ransacking inside the home. We can't determine whether it's a burglary or a robbery, but we can determine it was suspicious."

Property records say 78-year-old Carmen Diaz had been living in her home for more than 50 years.

Neighbors have been left heartbroken. Carmen Garcia was choked up as she said, "I was actually raised here. When I moved into the neighborhood I met her. As a matter of fact, her name is Carmita," she added with a smile. "She has my same name."

Police have not found any weapons inside the home. Investigators shielded their faces and feet when entering the home, which is now being called a crime scene.

Frank Guerra, another neighbor, said, "She always [kept] to herself. She didn't mess with anybody. I used to walk by and see her sitting there or doing something in her yard. She's not the type of lady to do anything bad to anybody. She's a sweet old lady."

One neighbor said she believed she had noticed the woman enter her home just a day earlier. But she was not completely sure, as she saw the woman at a distance.

The woman's son is talking to police at the Miami Police Department.

Police continue to investigate and have blocked the road in the area.

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