Caretaker charged in friend's death enters not guilty plea in Punta Gorda court

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. (WINK) — A Cape Coral caretaker has pleaded not guilty in the death of her friend.

Lori Hamilton was arrested last month, more than a year after her friend, Brenda Corbin, was found dead in a Charlotte County nature preserve. Hamilton is charged with disturbing a dead body and failing to report a death.

Because Hamilton is still in the Charlotte County jail, she didn't physically step inside the courtroom. Instead, her lawyer entered a not guilty plea.

READ MORE: Arrest made 1 year after Cape Coral woman's body found in Charlotte County

Investigators say they cracked this case using technology no longer available to them. More than a year after she reported her friend missing, the 60-year-old Hamilton faced a judge by video conference.

Hamilton was a court-appointed guardian of a dementia patient, Corbin. Hamilton told investigators that Corbin disappeared from her home in May 2025.

Corbin's body was later found in a rural part of Charlotte County. Arrest records show that investigators used automated license plate readers to determine Hamilton was in the exact area where Corbin was discovered, but had never been in that area before.

FDOT has ordered all ALPR cameras to be taken down on state roads in the next month. Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell says that technology helped them solve this case, and he's worried about future cases without it.

READ MORE: Daughter of woman found dead in Charlotte County speaks out after arrest of caretaker

"It's a great, great tool," Prummell said. "And we're going to be losing that. Because most of your criminals, when they come into Charlotte County, they're using main thoroughfares."

Hamilton asked the judge to reduce her bond, but he told her she would have to file that request with her attorney. She'll be back in court next month for a case management conference.