Wilmington Police have announced charges in connection with the fatal assault of an elderly woman earlier this month.
Officials said on September 3, at approximately 7:27 p.m., police responded to a residence in the 400 block of South Jackson Street for a welfare check. Upon gaining entry to the home, officers discovered 89-year-old Leonor Gonzalez-Ortiz deceased inside. An investigation, led by Detective Justin Kane from the Wilmington Police Criminal Investigations Division was launched. The Delaware Division of Forensic Sciences later confirmed that Gonzalez-Ortiz had been assaulted, leading to her death police said Tuesday.
During the course of the investigation, 37-year-old Cynthia Viquez was identified as a suspect according to police. Viquez was taken into custody without incident on September 4 and initially charged with First Degree Assault. She was committed to the Delores J. Baylor Women’s Correctional Institution following her arrest.
On September 16, after further investigation and in collaboration with the Delaware Division of Forensic Sciences and the Delaware Department of Justice, Viquez was charged charges of First Degree Murder and Providing a False Statement to Law Enforcement. Viquez was arraigned in Justice of the Peace Court 20 and remains in custody on a cash-only bail of $1,002,000.