A Florida father found his 37-year-old daughter and her boyfriend dead Saturday in what Bradenton Beach Police Det Sgt Lenard Diaz called “the most gruesome crime scene I’ve ever worked” — an apparent murder-suicide in a Bradenton Beach triplex that just sold on Friday.
Sabrina Marie Dumdei and Zachary John Winton, 34, were both pronounced dead at the scene, Diaz said. Dumdei and Winton were the only occupants of the building, according to Police Chief Sam Speciale, the Anna Maria Island Sun reported.
The chief said detectives will likely have to wait for autopsies on Monday to determine exactly what happened.
“We have no idea. All I can tell you is there’s a lot of blood. We’re waiting to find out exactly where the wounds are and what they consist of,” Speciale said.
Both Speciale and Diaz said that police have responded to domestic incidents at the location in the past.
“We arrested him in September for domestic violence,” Diaz said.
Court records say that Winton was arrested at the Bradenton Beach address on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, tampering with a witness, false imprisonment, and domestic battery and was ordered to have no contact with Dumdei. An order was filed lifting the no contact order in mid-September. According to the arresting officer’s report, he said he would kill Dumdei when he got out of jail:
“Defendant and victim had been arguing for the last two days, but today victim said it got worse. Victim stated Winton refused to let her leave the house or his sight by threats of violence. She felt confined. Defendant then grabbed her by the face and held a razor knife to her neck and said, ‘Leave and see what happens.’ Victim had a well-founded fear that Winton had the ability to carry out such a threat and that it would take place.
“Victim stated defendant would not allow her to use the phone, but only to call his sister, as he hindered or delayed her from making any other calls. Victim finally got away and made the call to 911 dispatch but had to hang up in the middle of the call, as defendant had found her and once again put her in fear of violence. Upon my arrival, defendant was yelling and walking at victim with a large kitchen knife I observed in his right back pocket. Defendant was then issued verbal commands at taser point to back away from the victim. He then complied and was detained. “While detained in the police department, Winton made numerous threatening remarks about what he was going to do to victim when he gets out, such as ‘I will kill her. She gonna pay. If I get charged with felonies, I’ll kill her then myself. I will cut her throat.’ ”
Manatee County court records also indicate that Dumdei was arrested on suspicion of domestic battery in July in Bradenton, but the charges were later dropped. Winton was arrested at the same Bradenton address less than a month later; his charges were also later dropped.
Speciale said Dumdei’s father had been trying to reach her and, when he couldn’t, came to the house. He saw his daughter on the floor and broke a window to get in, he said. The chief said the scene was so bloody that officers couldn’t tell what caused the wounds.
“This is probably the most gruesome crime scene I’ve ever worked – the worst in 37 years that I’ve ever seen,” Diaz told the Sun. “It’s going to be really hard to put together what occurred, what the chronological events were that led up to the actual deaths. Going through the crime scene and photos, I’ll try to put something together, but it’s going to be speculation because there’s no witnesses and nobody saw anything.”
The Sun noted that a plastic deck chair, streaked in blood, sat outside a broken window.
For the latest true crime and justice news, subscribe to the ‘Crime Stories with Nancy Grace’ podcast:
[Featured image: Sabrina Dumdei and Zachary Winton/Facebook]
