Who was Joysee Cartagena? UCF student 'shattered' after mother found dead with zip-tie around her neck inside home
SANFORD, FLORIDA: A former Florida school employee was found dead inside her home with a zip tie around her neck. The incident has left the Sanford neighborhood shocked after a 911 call alerted the police to the distressing discovery of 49-year-old Joysee Cartagena Clemente.
The police in Sanford received the call on July 17 where the caller claimed to have discovered the woman at 2.10 pm inside her house situated in the 300 block of Saltmarsh Loop. On Tuesday, Sanford police confirmed that Cartagena's death was the result of a homicide, according to News Nation.
Who was Joysee Clemente?
Cartagena worked as Customer Support Specialist at JetBlue, according to her LinkedIn page. She previously worked at two different schools located between Sanford and Orlando in Seminole County. Cartagena worked as a clerk for seven years at Lawton Elementary and as a secretary at Spring Lake Elementary, according to the Seminole County School District.
On Tuesday, August 2, the Sanford Police Department (SPD) issued a release that stated, "Sanford Fire and Rescue advised upon their arrival they found Joysee inside her home with a large zip-tie around her neck. They attempted life-saving measures, however, Joysee was pronounced dead at the scene."
"As is procedure in unattended and/ or suspicious deaths, the Lake County Medical Examiner was contacted to conduct an autopsy. At this time, this incident is being investigated as a suspicious death and/ or homicide. This is a very active investigation," read the statement.
Cartagena's son left devastated after her death
Cartagena's grieving son talked about the tragic loss of his mother. "Like if my body was a piece of glass, it was just cracked, shambled, and shattered in every single way," Steven Rivera Cartagena said of receiving the news his mother had died. "My mom was my world to me. That's all I knew, and that's all I wanted to know. Losing her, it just kind of made me feel like I was an orphan in a way. I was like, 'What do I do?'", he said.
Rivera shared that he has no idea what was the motive behind the killing and who would have any harming his mother. "That's the same question I have. I always say that my mom wasn't the type of person to have enemies. You know, she was a sweet woman," he said. He also added that his mother was someone who always helped others during her work at JetBlue and Seminole County Public Schools.
Bianca Gillett of the Sanford Police Department spoke about the suspicious death investigation. "Appears to be an isolated incident. The person of interest is someone tied to the victim," said Bianca.