MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) – A disturbing discovery in Miami Beach has landed a 40-year-old man in jail.
Miami Beach Police officers responded to the Blackstone Apartments along 800 Washington Avenue on Saturday night.
7News cameras captured markers and crime tape at the apartment building.
According to detectives, the mother of the 40-year-old flew in from New Jersey because she was concerned for her son.
“She flew from out of state to check on her son, who, we believe, suffers from mental illness, and unfortunately, the conclusion wasn’t a happy one,” said Miami Beach Police Public Information Officer Christopher Bess.
Police said the mother, Elizabeth Caruso, was staying with her son, Anthony, at the apartments. However, police said they received a wellness check call on Saturday after Elizabeth’s son-in-law had not heard from her in a couple of hours.
“The complainant who called in a welfare check was actually [the] son-in-law of the victim, and the reason why he contacted police is because he had not heard from his mother-in-law in a couple of hours,” said Bess.
Upon arrival at the apartment, officers found blood stains from the front door of unit 708 that led to a trash chute. They followed the stains and were able to break the lock of the chute to find the body of a deceased woman inside.
“We did discover a female victim inside of a waste container and an investigation revealed there was a trail of blood coming from that apartment unit to the trash chute and subsequently down the trash chute inside of the waste container,” said Bess.
When officers tried to make contact at the apartment where Anthony was residing, they were unsuccessful, prompting an 8-hour standoff that involved the Miami Beach Police SWAT team and a police K-9.
“For an hour-long standoff, approximately eight hours, our SWAT team was able to enter the location without further incident,” said Bess.
According to the arrest report, police K-9 entered the apartment and injured Anthony on his right arm as officers tried to gain his compliance.
The area outside the apartment building was blocked off for hours as police negotiated with Anthony.
Gladys, who lives on the eighth floor, said she woke up to the commotion.
“The whole street was closed, and all around the building too. No one could pass by, or nobody could stand here. There were just a lot of police,” she said. “They found a woman dead!”
While many, like Gladys, say they didn’t know the mother and son, like others, she is saddened.
“I can’t believe that,” she said.
Anthony was checked out at Mount Sinai Medical Center before being taken to the Miami Beach Police Criminal Investigation Division for questioning. From there, he was transferred to the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center, where he faces a second-degree murder charge.
7News found a prior mugshot of Anthony where he was arrested for several charges, including aggravated assault with a weapon and battery on a law enforcement officer.
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