{"id":247966,"date":"2026-04-27T07:26:31","date_gmt":"2026-04-27T07:26:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/247966\/"},"modified":"2026-04-27T07:26:31","modified_gmt":"2026-04-27T07:26:31","slug":"arrest-made-after-victim-identified-in-lutz-death-investigation-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/247966\/","title":{"rendered":"ARREST MADE AFTER VICTIM IDENTIFIED IN LUTZ DEATH INVESTIGATION"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>                                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/rebecca-stewart-vaughn.png\" alt=\"ARREST MADE AFTER VICTIM IDENTIFIED IN LUTZ DEATH INVESTIGATION \" class=\"pr-3 pb-3\" aria-label=\"ARREST MADE AFTER VICTIM IDENTIFIED IN LUTZ DEATH INVESTIGATION \"\/><\/p>\n<p class=\"\">UPDATE:\u00a0APRIL 20, 2026<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nThe Hillsborough County Sheriff&#8217;s Office has made an arrest after an extensive investigation after human remains were discovered in Lutz on\u00a0August 8, 2025.<\/p>\n<p>The remains were initially unidentified, and detectives worked with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in an effort to identify the victim.<\/p>\n<p>The FDLE Biology Special Projects\u00a0Unit and Othram Inc. assisted in the processing of DNA evidence through grant funds from the Federal Bureau of Justice Administration&#8217;s Missing and Unidentified Human Remains Program. Through this processing, potential leads were found.&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\nThe results were used to identify the victim as 78-year-old Jacquelyn Cirone.<\/p>\n<p>\nDetectives also determined that a family member caring for the victim disposed of her remains in the woods after her death.<\/p>\n<p>Rebecca Vaughn, 64, has been charged with the following:&#13;\n<\/p>\n<p>&#13;<br \/>\n\tUnlawfully hold or move a dead human body in unapproved conditions&#13;<br \/>\n\tFailure to report death to Medical Examiner or Law Enforcement&#13;<br \/>\n\tTampering with physical evidence&#13;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis case is the result of relentless investigative work and a critical partnership with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement,\u201d\u00a0said Sheriff Chad Chronister.\u00a0\u201cThe actions taken in this case show a complete disregard for human dignity, and we will ensure those responsible face the full consequences.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This is an active investigation, and any updates will come from the Public Affairs Office.<\/p>\n<p>ORIGINAL RELEASE:\u00a0AUGUST 9, 2025<br \/>&#13;<br \/>\nThe Hillsborough County Sheriff\u2019s Office is conducting a death investigation in Lutz.<\/p>\n<p>On\u00a0August 8, 2025, just after 11:20 a.m., deputies responded to a call about possible human remains in a wooded area in the 19100 block of Ramblewood Road.<\/p>\n<p>Deputies confirmed the discovery, and the Medical Examiner\u2019s Office determined the human remains are those of a female. There were no apparent signs of trauma.<\/p>\n<p>Detectives are working with the Medical Examiner\u2019s Office to confirm the woman\u2019s identity and determine the cause of death.<\/p>\n<p>This is an active investigation, and any updates will come from the Public Affairs Office.<\/p>\n<p>Additional Images<\/p>\n<p>                                                <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777274791_550_img_0260-2.jpg\" alt=\"ARREST MADE AFTER VICTIM IDENTIFIED IN LUTZ DEATH INVESTIGATION  Supporting Image\"\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"UPDATE:\u00a0APRIL 20, 2026&#13; The Hillsborough County Sheriff&#8217;s Office has made an arrest after an extensive investigation after human&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":240438,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[135,137,136],"class_list":["post-247966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=247966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/247966\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=247966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=247966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=247966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}