A St. Lucie County grand jury on Wednesday returned an indictment in the December 2016 killing of a 74-year-old St. Lucie County woman, according to a spokesperson from the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office.
Sheila Robbins Hamner was killed in a machete attack Dec. 10, 2016 at a home on Traub Avenue in White City.
Hamner’s son, Kenny, was initially arrested and charged with his mother’s murder. However, months after his arrest, the state attorney’s office dismissed the case without an explanation.
Now, almost a year an a half after the attack, WPTV has learned a new suspect has been indicted, according to Kenny Hamner’s attorney Hugh Koerner.
In a news release, Koerner said the grand jury indicted Carlos Arellano-Ramirez for the murder Sheila Hamner. Ramirez is currently in jail in connection with a separate burglary in Fort Pierce.
The attorney included a statement from Kenny Hamner saying the following:
Because of this unspeakable tragedy, I lost my mother, my best friend, my liberty, and my family. During the investigation of my mother’s murder I was completely honest and truthful at all times with the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office. The truth never changes. For that reason, even after I was wrongfully arrested and incarcerated for killing my own mother, I always believed the truth would come out– even when very few persons were willing or able to believe I was completely innocent.
The heinous attack that cost my beautiful mother her life, and almost ended my life, has caused incalculable pain to myself and my family. I am nevertheless very happy the actual perpetrator has finally been charged. I am also extremely pleased and relieved that my family can now begin the process of coming together to heal, and mourn the loss of our mother and my best friend.
I will be making no further statements at this time, and respectfully request the privacy necessary to start the process of healing, and obtaining justice for my mother, and my family.
Kenny Hamner was also injured in the home invasion, according to Sheriff Ken Mascara. The sheriff had announced they had been searching for a Hispanic man possible carrying a large knife. However, a few weeks later, Mascara announced that Kenny had been arrested. Murder charges against Kenny Hamner were dropped in March 2017.
"He provided deputies with a false description of a suspect who, quite frankly, never existed," Mascara said at a news conference the day the victim's son was arrested.
The sheriff’s office is not commenting on the case Wednesday other than to say there was an indictment, although not releasing a name, and there will be a press conference Thursday to explain how investigators got to this point.