Florida Man Accused of Killing Girlfriend by Zip-Tying Her Neck Claims She Did It to Herself

A Florida man was arrested after he allegedly strangled and killed his girlfriend with a zip tie, police said.

When police arrived at the scene, Joel Bauza, 50, initially told them his girlfriend, 49-year-old Joysee Cartagena Clemente, died by suicide, local NBC affiliate WESH reported.

“He was saying on [the] scene that she had committed suicide. Through the evidence is when they determined that it was, in fact, not suicide,” Tammy Townsend, spokesperson for the Sanford Police Department, told the outlet.

A press release from the Sanford Police Department said police found Clemente in her home in July with a large zip tie around her neck. Emergency personnel tried to perform live-saving measures but pronounced her dead at the scene. 

An autopsy conducted by the Lake County Medical Examiner’s Office found that Clemente had been strangled, the police release said. 

Investigators ruled her death a homicide. 

“Through the great work of the Lake County Medical Examiner’s Office and our Major Crimes Investigators, it was clear that Joysee didn’t take her own life,” Police Chief Cecil Smith said in the release. 

“She was a radiant woman who made a positive impact on so many lives in this community,” Smith added. “We are saddened that Bauza’s actions took her from loved ones so prematurely. We hope he will now receive the justice he deserves.”

Bauza is facing a first-degree homicide charge.