A Cape Coral man is sharing his heartbreaking story after finding his sister’s remains scattered in the backyard of her home on Southeast Santa Barbara Place.
Alejandro Llanes said the gruesome discovery, made Monday, is something he’ll never be able to forget.
WARNING: Some viewers/readers might find the details of this story to be disturbing
According to Llanes, his 58-year-old sister, Areles Llanes, had been dead for weeks. She lived alone with her three large dogs, and Alejandro believes the starving animals resorted to eating her body to survive.
“When I walked in and I saw that, my first impression, it was, a pig, like an animal. No legs, no arms. I mean, it was like a big bag of, of skin," Llanes said, describing the awful scene. "I mean, that was, like, a horror movie, you know, it was."
Cape Coral police arrived at the home to find the body severely decomposed, with missing limbs and remains thrown around the property. Inside the house, images revealed dog feces and filth covering the floors.
Alejandro says his sister was in poor health and refused to take care of herself, isolating herself from friends and family.
"What happened is she was she was not living a healthy life. Drinking a lot of wine, not eating properly," Alejandro Llanes said. “She probably collapsed in the backyard, and after, like, a week, those dogs—they were hungry. They’re animals. They need to survive, so they just started eating her."
The family last heard from Areles in December. Alejandro explained that they often tried to reach out to her, inviting her to family gatherings, but she always declined.
He described his sister as someone who chose to isolate herself, which he believes ultimately led to her tragic death.
“We used to call her. Every family gathering, I’d say, ‘Come spend time with us—Christmas, New Year’s Eve.’ But she never wanted to. She isolated herself,” he said. "She confessed to me that she could not stop drinking, and I told her, well, but at least let me help you, you know? And she she always refused."
Now, Alejandro hopes his sister’s story will serve as a reminder to others.
“You have to love yourself before you can love anyone else,” he said, urging people to stay connected with their loved ones and seek help when struggling.
Cape Coral Police couldn't confirm if the dogs had anything to do with the woman's death but told NBC2 it wasn't "suspicious."
The dogs have been taken into custody by animal control and will be evaluated.
According to animal control's report, one of the dogs was a shepherd mix, another a labrador retriever and the third one's breed is documented as unknown.
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