Cape Coral caregiver arrested over a year after woman was found dead in Charlotte County

A Cape Coral caregiver has been arrested more than a year after a woman with dementia was found dead in the woods in Charlotte County. Investigators said Lori Hamilton was accused of disturbing Brenda Corbin’s body and they used license plate readers and phone records to place Hamilton near Bermont Road, where Corbin’s body was discovered in May 2025. Corbin, who had dementia, lived with Hamilton, and the two had been friends since high school. Reports indicate Hamilton claimed she helped Corbin into bed the night she disappeared and said that was the last time she saw her. Hamilton was arrested last week at an AutoZone near Cape Coral Parkway after detectives spent over a year building a case against her. Bill Hull, who lived next door to Corbin along Southwest 18th Avenue in Cape Coral, recalled seeing undercover police cars in the neighborhood after Corbin vanished. “Yeah, I figured it was coming, I really did, but it took a while,” Hull said. He added, “Yeah, they had stakeouts quite a bit here, you know, and, yeah, I could see the unmarked cars and all that. You know, they were staking her out for quite a while.” An arrest affidavit revealed that Corbin’s body was found off a private farm near Bermont Road in Charlotte County a few days after she disappeared. Investigators said animals likely ate her leg and arm, as they were missing. The Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office, Cape Coral Police Department, and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission worked together on the case, using license plate readers to track Hamilton’s reported movements to Charlotte County. Heather Bliss, Corbin’s daughter, expressed her lingering questions about her mother’s death. “I guess, to have all the questions, probably all the same questions. Everybody else is kind of curious about how did she get there, you know, what happened?” Bliss said. The cause of Corbin’s death remains undetermined. DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.