A 60-year-old Florida woman is facing criminal charges after police say she dumped her friend’s body in a nature preserve, lied about her disappearance, and tried to cover up what happened.
Lori Hamilton was arrested and charged with disturbing a dead body following the death of 58-year-old Brenda Corbin. Hamilton is currently held at the Charlotte County Jail on a $6,000 bond.
According to police records, Hamilton called cops on May 20, 2025, to report that Corbin had walked out of her Cape Coral home in the middle of the night. Hamilton had power of attorney for Corbin, a high school friend who suffered from dementia. Hamilton had recently picked Corbin up from a Tampa care facility for a memorial service and decided to keep her at her home instead of returning her.
When officers asked where Corbin might be, Hamilton claimed her friend might have left with a man. However, police said Hamilton could not explain what the two women had done in the days before the disappearance.
“Hamilton could not explain what she and Brenda had done over the weekend,” officers wrote in an arrest document. “All she said was that they had gone out but did not remember where they went or what they did. Hamilton did not seem too concerned about Brenda’s disappearance.”
Police said Hamilton made no phone calls or efforts to find Corbin. Instead of posting about her missing friend on Facebook, she posted asking for help moving furniture.
Investigators used license plate readers and phone data to trace Hamilton’s movements. Records showed her pickup truck near the Babcock Ranch Preserve around 3:30 a.m. on May 19, 2025. Hamilton told police she was there checking on her horses, but cameras had never spotted her truck in that area before.
On May 23, 2025, officers found Corbin’s body covered in brush near a trail in the preserve, with drag marks leading from the road. Because the body was badly decomposed and damaged by animals, a medical examiner could not determine how Corbin died.
When police searched Hamilton’s truck, police dogs smelled human remains. Officers also found Corbin’s Social Security card and medication inside the vehicle.
During a recorded phone call with Corbin’s adult daughter, Hamilton denied killing her friend, saying, “I haven’t killed your mom. I would never.”
Police noted that during the call, “Hamilton spoke more about how the police treated her and the trauma she suffered from the police than anything about Brenda or how Brenda’s children felt.”
Corbin’s daughter, Heather Bliss, told WINK News that she was shocked by the arrest because Hamilton seemed like a good friend to her mother. But she added that Hamilton’s lack of concern raised red flags.
READ: Florida Deputy Kidnaps, Kills Girlfriend And Himself After Argument Over TV, Sheriff Says
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