A bond court hearing for a Miami Beach man charged in the murder of his mother, whose body was found in a dumpster at his apartment building over the weekend, was rescheduled after a judge noticed details missing from his arrest report.
Anthony Caruso, who has been charged with second-degree, appeared Monday morning before Miami-Dade Circuit Court Judge Mindy Glazer.
During the hearing, it was revealed that Caruso was out on probation for three other cases, details of which were not discussed. During a reading of his arrest report, Glazer noted that important details were missing.
“Am I missing something?” she asked the prosecutor.
Glazer then questioned the reasoning behind the charges, saying there was nothing in the arrest report that indicated he had killed his mother.
“Where does it say he killed his mother?” she said.
“I agree judge. There’s nothing indicating that says he killed his mother,” Caruso’s attorney replied.
The prosecution then tried to call in the officers behind the arrest but couldn’t reach them.
Glazer then reset the hearing for the afternoon session.
“Reset it in the afternoon for a probable cause hearing to see if he is in fact the person who killed his mother,” she said.
Welfare check leads to disturbing discovery
According to police, Caruso’s mother, Elizabeth Caruso, arrived in Miami Beach from New Jersey mid-day on Saturday to check on her son, Anthony, who they said has a history of mental health issues.
That night, according to police, they received a call from her son-in-law who said he had been unable to reach her for six hours.
Officers were then sent to Caruso’s apartment building on Washington Avenue to conduct a welfare check.
According to the arrest report, when they arrived they found blood on the front door of his apartment and a smear of blood on the hallway floor that led to the trash room directly across from it.
“Officers opened the door to the trash room and saw blood on the walls and floor surrounding the trash chute. Officers went to the first floor of the building where the bottom of the trash chute was located,” according to the report.
Grisly discovery in dumpster
The door was locked, so Miami Beach Fire Rescue was called to help breach it. When officers entered the room, they found Elizabeth Caruso’s body inside the dumpster, according to the arrest report.
Elizabeth Caruso’s neck was severely injured “nearly to the point of decapitation” and sustained several bone fractures in her arms, hands, face and head, according to the medical examiner’s findings noted in the report.
Arrest leads to eight-hour standoff
When officers tried to make contact with Caruso at his apartment, no one came to the door, according to police.
At this time, Miami Beach police SWAT and Hostage Negotiation Teams were deployed to the apartment building, and a search warrant was obtained, police said.
“When our officers tried to make contact with the subject, he barricaded himself,” Christopher Best, a public information officer with Miami Beach police, said.
While serving the warrant, SWAT officers commanded Caruso several times to surrender to no avail and tried using several tactics to get him to comply. However, they were unsuccessful.
After an eight-hour standoff, officers used a K9 and Taser to take him into custody, according to police. Caruso, whose right arm was injured by the K9, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital for treatment.
Caruso was then taken to the Miami Beach Police Department for questioning. There he invoked his rights and did not provide a statement, according to the arrest report.
