Cape Coral community reacts to death investigation of 35-year-old neighbor

A bouquet of bright tulips now sits by the front door of the Cape Coral duplex where Kristine Melton’s body was found.

It’s the center of the on-going death investigation.

“Scary. It’s just scary,” said neighbor Debbie McCabe.

Inside the home, police found 35-year-old Melton.

McCabe said she was a very good neighbor and a good person. “She was happy-go-lucky, [would] help anybody. She was a very nice person.”

Next door, McCabe says the last time she heard Melton’s voice was just in passing.

“Heard a car drive up and I heard her say, ‘Hi’ and then that was about it. That was the last time I heard her,” she said.

That was on Sunday. Monday, crime scene tape surrounded her home.

“It was unbelievable,” said McCabe. “You know, all these cops out here? It was scary. Then they went and blocked the whole place up.”

Neighbors down the block say they knew something was wrong.

“I peeked around the corner and I knew somebody was dead,” said John O’Keefe. “And I just came back home and I said I don’t want to see that because I’ve seen enough death in my life.”

McCabe sent her condolences to Melton’s loved ones: “I am so sorry, you know? I wish it could have been different.”

The only thing that will bring relief to this Cape Coral neighborhood, is an arrest.

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This death investigation is still ongoing. 

Preliminary information suggests that the same person of interest in Melton’s death may be involved in the disappearance of another Cape Coral woman, Diane Ruiz.