abuse

On Thursday, Orange County Police found the body of 29-year-old Joanna Gomez-Simo, who is a Bahamian living in Orlando, Florida.

The police were called to the home for a welfare check when family members reported that they were unable to reach her. Her boyfriend Pierre Floriant, 41, allowed authorities inside the Pointe Vista Apartments where they found the pregnant woman strangled to death in her bedroom where she lived with her four children.

Police have since arrested Floriant and charged him with murder.

What happened the day Joanna Gomez-Simo was found dead

It is not known when she was strangled to death but her phone went unanswered for days. She was found with a blanket covering her body as Floriant stayed in the home.

After the murder, he dropped off their 6-month-old child for someone to keep for the night then returned to the apartment. And when the police arrived to investigate the home after a welfare complaint was made, he opened the door to permit them inside where they found the woman, who was 20 weeks pregnant, already dead.

Floriant said he believed Gomez-Simo was cheating on him and he did not want the baby.

Pierre Floriant abused Joanna Gomez-Simo before her death

Floriant has a history of domestic abuse stemming from December of last year when he punched Gomez-Simo in the stomach and neck to abort the baby. Because she refused he said, “he would perform the abortion himself,” she reported to the police before her death.

She had reached out to the police for help in times past when she wished to pursue criminal charges against Floriant. She was recently named as a victim in a Domestic Violence Aggravated Battery case involving Floriant as the defendant.

But Gomez-Simo moved out of state and was no longer in fear for her life so she dropped the charges against him.

The prosecution office said despite her desire to drop the case, it continued to investigate the matter but stated there was insufficient evidence to move forward with criminal charges and prove the case “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Gomez-Simo admitted to police that there were two other cases that were unreported where Floriant abused her.

What are the charges?

Floriant confessed to the killing and is charged with 1st-degree murder and the killing of an unborn child.

Police reported the death of a 25-year-old woman on Thursday where she was found after 8 pm in a room, at the Landshark  Hotel on West Bay Street.

Police are still investigating her death, though the initial investigation indicated a possible suicide. She was found hanging with a rope around her neck.

Who was she?

Though police are still waiting to notify the next of kin before publicly revealing her name, she has been unofficially identified as Carissa Culmer.

Carissa was adopted as a baby from the Ranfurly Home and was reared by Christian adopted parents, the father being a pastor and fisherman, and her mother, an ordained missionary.

The Culmer family has one son and she joined the family as the only girl.

As she advanced in age, Carissa faced tension with her adopted mother and was eventually taken from the home by Social Services, while maintaining a close relationship with her adopted father.

Carissa is believed to have three biological siblings, with whom she had no relationship.

In a social media post, she lamented, “Lord you heard my cry night after night just feeling so alone in this cold world. Even as a child, I would cry my eyes out to know that I have a mother that I never met and three siblings I never met.

“I felt so lost growing up because I didn’t know anything about my background. It really made it hard to stay focused,” she said.

Despite the hardship, Carissa graduated last year from Nurse’s Edge Training Institute as a patient care technician.

What was Carissa’s history with abuse?

When Carissa was released from the hostel, she was left to fend for herself and wound up in abusive relationships.

“After leaving the institution, things didn’t get any better believe it or not. I stayed with over fourteen or more people. I even found myself homeless from time to time I would stay in the club until 5 am because I had nowhere else to go,” she said.

Last year November, she pleaded for assistance in a social media post, claiming her boyfriend and father of her baby boy, often abused her and she was in fear for her life.

“I so tired. I so tired. I done lose my mind twice. Yes. Yes, I strong. I’m strong yes, but I tired. I tired. I ain’ saying I’m perfect. I’m not perfect,” she wept.

She was featured as a guest on Beyond the Headlines to tell her story of domestic abuse which led to Social Services offering help.

Carissa was invited to the Senate and sat in the gallery as senators addressed domestic violence in the country. Senate President Lashell Adderley said, “The continuous courage and fortitude demonstrated by vulnerable women like Carissa Culmer, who stand and say a resounding no to traumatic stress and pain of domestic violence, must be stopped by the enforcement of legislation, policies and procedures to eradicate gender-based violence.”

Cause of death

Authorities are still investigating the cause of death. They do not know as yet, whether or not foul play is suspected.

Audley Peters said it appeared she could have been dead for around two hours before she was discovered.

The toddler was discovered in the room where her body was found.

The boyfriend and father of the boy arrived later and was seen holding the son as he spoke with the police.

Where to get help if you face domestic abuse or contemplating suicide

Bahamas Crisis Center: (242) 328-0922

Royal Bahamas Police Force: 911, 919, (242) 322-4444