KEY LARGO, Fla. – A 54-year-old man was arrested Monday in connection with the 2017 murder of a woman in Key Largo, authorities confirmed.
According to Monroe County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Adam Linhardt, the victim, Mary Bonneville, 70, was murdered on Oct. 21, 2017, at her home at 720 Ponce De Leon Blvd.
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Deputies and firefighters initially responded to the home after receiving reports about a house fire, and when they entered the home they found Bonneville dead on the floor in a hallway.
Linhardt said Bonneville had knife wounds on her throat and her death was ruled a homicide.
According to Linhardt, DNA evidence was used to link Eddy Lopez-Jemot to various items from Bonnevile’s home, such as a beer can and a towel.
He said Lopez-Jemot was also in the area of Bonneville’s home the night of the murder and was arrested that same night for threatening to cut a woman’s head off at the nearby Veterans of Foreign Wars building, which is located about 660 feet from Bonneville’s home.
Miami-Dade police took Lopez-Jemot into custody on Monday after obtaining an arrest warrant from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
He faces charges of murder and arson of an occupied dwelling.
“I want to thank our Major Crimes Unit for their relentless work on this case,” Sheriff Rick Ramsay said in a statement. “It took countless hours of police work to put this case together. I hope this provides some closure to the family and friends of the victim as well as to everyone in the Upper Keys.”
Lopez-Jemot is being held in lieu of a $1.25 million bond.
A motive for the killing is unclear.