INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, Fla. — The death of a 76-year-old woman in Indian River County this week is being investigated as suspicious, according to deputies.
Investigators said on Monday at about 8:15 p.m., deputies with the Indian River County Sheriff's Office responded to a welfare check at an apartment in the 5000 block of Fairway Circle near Vero Beach.
Deputies were asked to check on a 76‑year‑old woman, whose name is being withheld by investigators.
The sheriff's office said she had not been heard from since the previous day and lived at the apartment with her 29‑year‑old grandson, Nicholas Ivey.
When deputies arrived, they made contact with the grandson in the parking lot.
During that encounter, the sheriff's office said Ivey made suspicious statements about his grandmother being dead inside the residence. Deputies entered the home and found the woman deceased.
Ivey was taken into custody without incident and arrested on separate charges while detectives continue to process evidence.
The sheriff's office said crime scene units, detectives and the Medical Examiner’s Office are actively processing the apartment and associated evidence, including a vehicle.
"This is an active and ongoing investigation. At this time, detectives believe this is an isolated incident between family members, and there was no known threat to the public," the sheriff's office said in a statement released Wednesday.
