TAVARES, Fla. — A Lake County grand jury has indicted Shahidul Islam in the 2025 killing of Monica Islam, and prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.
Islam, 44, is charged with premeditated first-degree murder with a firearm in Monica Islam’s May 2, 2025, death.
Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney Bill Gladson announced the indictment alongside Chief Financial Officer Blaise Ingoglia and Lake County Sheriff Peyton Grinnell at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
According to the State Attorney’s Office, Islam was transferred back to Lake County after being sentenced in his most recent federal criminal case for unlawful reentry into the United States. He is being held on no bond at the Lake County Jail.
Gladson’s office said it is seeking the death penalty under Florida law, citing the severity of the crime and its impact on the victim’s family.
Monica Islam was reported missing by her daughter May 2, 2025, after she was last seen at a Eustis gas station; her body was found in unincorporated Mount Dora the same morning. LCSO determined she had been shot and quickly identified her brother-in-law as a suspect.
Authorities say Shahidul Islam fled Florida after Monica Islam’s death. He was later arrested in New York before being returned to Lake County to face the murder charge.
Assistant State Attorney Thomas Wieczorek is prosecuting the case.
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Woman found dead near Mount Dora is a homicide victim, deputies say – Inside Lake
