JENSEN BEACH, Fla. — Court documents filed earlier this month show that state prosecutors will seek the death penalty against a handyman accused of killing a Jensen Beach woman and then hiding her body in a septic tank.
Documents filed May 18 show that state prosecutors declared their intent to seek the death penalty against 34-year-old Keoki Hilo Demich.
The body of Cynthia Cole, 57, was found on March 5 submerged in the septic tank — about 4 feet underground — after hours of excavation.
Cole had been reported missing last month after she had last been seen alive at the Jammin' Jensen event in downtown Jensen Beach.
Demich was arrested soon afterward on a murder charge.
Sheriff William Snyder said investigators secured surveillance video that showed Demich walking away from Cole's car on the night she disappeared.
The sheriff said Cole and Demich had known each other for years.
Read the court filing below: