St. Lucie County Sheriff Ken Mascara held a Thursday morning news conference to discuss the arrest of a suspect in a 2016 homicide but still would not clear the victim's son in the case.
Carlos Arellano-Ramirez was indicted Wednesday in a 2016 attack that killed 74-year-old Sheila Hamner.
Arellano-Ramirez faces first-degree murder charges. During a Thursday morning appearance a judge set no bond on the murder charge and ordered no contact with any family members of the the Hamners.
Last year, Hamner’s son, Kenny, was arrested in January 2017 and charged with his mother’s murder. However, in March 2017, the state attorney’s office dismissed the case without an explanation.
Mascara said Thursday that DNA testing revealed the possibility of a third person in the case, prompting the state attorney's office to present new evidence to a grand jury.
The sheriff said there was a lack of cooperation from Kenny initially during the investigation.
When asked if Kenny was no longer a suspect in his mother's death, Mascara declined to comment.
Mascara would not say whether Arellano-Ramirez knew or had any connection to Kenny Hamner.