- Beloved mum-of-three Cynthia “Cyndi” Cole disappeared after attending a local festival in Jensen Beach, Florida, in February 2022, leaving family and friends desperately searching for answers
- Police eventually discovered Cyndi’s body inside the septic tank in her backyard, they turned their attention to her handyman, Keoki Demich
- Demich pleaded guilty to murder and other charges and was sentenced to three consecutive life terms
Cynthia Cole was well known in her small-town community.
A single mum to three adult children, the bright and bubbly 57-year-old was adored by everyone who knew her.
Known as Cyndi, she was a nature-lover who always made time to appreciate the little things, especially the flowers and butterflies in her garden.
Cyndi was spiritual too, and often posted messages of love on social media.
Good morning! Singing on the beach, remembering to stay in the moment and enjoy fully the gifts we are given. The present is all we have, she posted on Facebook alongside a picture of the sunrise captured during her morning beach walk on Thursday, February 24, 2022.
Later that day, Cyndi posted again, this time about catching up with friends at Jammin Jensen, a weekly festival held at the local beach.
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But waves of worry began to pulse through her close network of family and friends when, in the days after the event, no-one had heard from Cyndi.
She’d missed a doctor’s appointment, didn’t show up to a party she’d told friends she was going to, hadn’t contacted anybody and had stopped posting on social media.
Going away without telling anyone was strange for a social butterfly like her.
So her family notified police, who went to Cyndi’s home to carry out a welfare check.
Officers checked around the house, but nothing seemed untoward.
Her Jeep Cherokee was missing from the driveway, so it was assumed – hoped – that Cyndi had gone on a quick road trip.
After all, she did like to travel.
But after a week with still no word, police assigned detectives to Cyndi’s case and a search was carried out inside her home.
Scouring the place from top to bottom, officers failed to find any evidence of violence, foul play or a struggle.
But her phone was found at home and its battery had gone flat.
Strangely, Cyndi’s bag was missing.
As the investigation escalated, police began questioning anyone who’d had contact with Cyndi before her disappearance, including 34-year-old Keoki Demich, who was her handyman.
As a single woman living alone, Cyndi sometimes needed an extra set of hands to maintain her house.
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Keoki was her tradie, helping her with garden and home maintenance.
Having known Cyndi for a few years, he’d also become a close friend and had been spending a lot of time at her home, working on renovations she was undertaking.
Detectives spoke to Keoki and it soon became apparent that something was up.
He made a string of false statements about his activities around the time Cyndi vanished.
One was claiming he’d last spoken to Cyndi on February 22, when he and a friend had fixed her air-conditioning unit.
However, her phone records showed Cyndi had texted Keoki early on February 25 about some handyman work.
He’d deleted the message from his phone.
He also claimed to have only ever accepted cash from Cyndi for his jobs, but police found digital receipts proving Keoki had received an online payment of $900 from her close to the time she vanished.
Then a ride-share app on Keoki’s phone proved he’d been to Cyndi’s home on the day she went missing.
With detectives’ suspicions heightened, all eyes turned to Keoki as the sole person of interest.
As around-the-clock surveillance of Keoki was ordered, detectives continued searching Cyndi’s property for leads.
Then they made a huge discovery.
An officer noticed something strange about the septic tank in her backyard.
Usually dirty and grimy, the lid was clean, while the bolts securing it were unscrewed and loose, indicating it had recently been opened.
Peering inside the tank, 1.2 metres below ground, they saw Cyndi’s naked body, submerged and motionless.
It was found that she’d suffered blunt-force injuries to her head and torso, had several broken ribs and a fractured nose, and had been sexually assaulted.
Around the same time as the gruesome discovery, officers located Cyndi’s Jeep within walking distance of Keoki’s home.
They also recovered surveillance footage showing someone fitting Keoki’s description leaving Cyndi’s Jeep and walking towards his own property in the early hours of February 25.
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It was enough evidence for police to arrest Keoki Demich, who was initially charged with second-degree murder.
As news spread about Cyndi’s murder, hundreds of people flocked to her home with flowers and handwritten notes expressing their love for her and their grief.
No-one could imagine why anyone would hurt such a wonderful person.
And they especially couldn’t believe that Demich – a man who had spent so much time helping Cyndi – would want to kill her.
In August 2022, Keoki Demich, then 34, took a plea deal to avoid the death penalty, pleading guilty to first-degree murder, burglary of an occupied dwelling with assault or battery, sexual battery, third-degree grand theft and grand theft of a motor vehicle.
In court, lawyer Nita Denton laid bare the details of what she believed happened on the day of Cyndi’s death, according to evidence collected by police.
On the night of February 24, Demich had gone to Cyndi’s home with the intention of robbing and killing her.
When he arrived, she wasn’t there, so he lay in wait in the shower.
When Cyndi returned, Demich slammed her into a door and, believing she was unconscious, sexually assaulted her.
‘The defendant then moved the victim to the bathroom where he drowned her,’ the lawyer recounted.
After killing Cyndi, he disposed of her body in the septic tank in the backyard.
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While his motive was never revealed, it’s believed, based on the charges, that greed was likely involved.
Demich was given three life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Martin County Judge Sherwood Bauer said this meant that ‘there’s only one way you’re going to leave prison, which is when you decease of old age or some disease.’
As Cyndi’s children addressed the court, her daughter Ashley explained how Demich had been in their lives for years and that they’d met him many times.
Over the years, the handyman had even told Cyndi she was like a mum to him.
‘I will never understand how you do this to someone who you call a second mother,’ a grieving Ashley said.
‘I find myself looking behind my shower curtain like I’m a little kid again, looking for monsters under my bed.’
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