ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) - An intellectually disabled Florida woman who was deaf, mute and suffered from cerebral palsy was abused and killed by relatives who had tied her up and left her to suffocate, authorities said Tuesday.
The three relatives alerted authorities in April that Gladys Ambert, 27, had run away from home, the Orlando Sentinel reported. A security guard at a community college later found her body not far from the family’s apartment.
Ambert’s body showed many marks that appeared to be from cords or rope tied around her, including on her abdomen, wrist and elbows, Orange County Sheriff’s Office Detective Sgt. Joe Cavelli said.
Detectives say the relatives eventually confessed to finding her unconscious while she was tied up in their bathroom in April, the day before her body was discovered. The relatives wrapped her body and dumped it in nearby woods, according to the sheriff’s office.
“Everyday, she was tied up, bound and beaten,” Cavelli said. “They discarded her like a piece of trash.”
Ambert had spent most of her life with her grandmother, officials said. But when the older woman died last July, Ambert went to live with her aunt, Nellie Ambert, 55, and the aunt’s children, Jasmine Ambert, 32, and Christian Matias, 18.
Nellie Ambert is facing a first-degree murder charge, according to the sheriff’s office. Jasmine Ambert is charged with abuse and neglect of a disabled person, and Christian Matias is charged with tampering with evidence. More charges could still come, officials said.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.