MOUNT DORA, Fla.—The woman found dead Friday was shot to death and detectives believe it was not a “random act,” according to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the area of Scenic Hills Drive and Wolf Branch Road Friday morning after someone reported they found a woman’s body. Deputies responded and found the woman, later identified as Monica Islam, 44, who was reported missing from Eustis, Eustis Police Department Chief Craig Capri told Inside Lake Friday.
According to the missing person report obtained by Inside Lake, Islam’s daughter, Rimi Islam, reported her mother missing around 8:30 a.m. Friday. She told EPD they left their home around 5:30 a.m. and arrived at Shell, 1701 South Bay Street, shortly after. She said her mom helped her with opening the store and then she walked outside to take a walk around the parking lot, which was normal behavior.
Rimi Islam said she got busy and lost track of where her mom was and asked another employee if she had seen her, the report states. The employee said she saw Monica Islam walking in the parking lot as she arrived at work, around 6:10 a.m. Rimi Islam tried calling her mom and was unable to reach her, and she went home to look for her. After checking her security cameras, she confirmed Monica Islam did not go back home. She called her mom multiple times, and was unable to reach her, so she called police.
EPD canvassed the area looking for Monica Islam and and went to the home she shares with her daughter. After officers were unable to find her, she was entered as a missing person and a BOLO (be on the lookout) was generated in an effort to find her.
An EPD officer soon spoke with an LCSO sergeant who said they were working a case involving a deceased female found on the roadside. The sergeant gave EPD details that matched the description of Monica Islam and LCSO responded to Islam’s home, along with EPD detectives, to speak with her daughter. The body was positively identified as Monica Islam later the same day.
An autopsy was performed by the Medical Examiner’s Office, and on Tuesday, LCSO Cpl. Chanel Martin said Monica Islam’s cause of death was a gunshot wound, and the manner of death is homicide.
“Detectives believe that this was not a random act, and we expect to release additional details as they continue to follow up on potential leads” Martin said.
If you have information on Islam’s murder, call Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS.
