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3 Men Accused Of Killing Frostproof Man

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TBO.com

Published: January 13, 2009

Romeo Lemos
Jose Mata
Jorge Mata

Three men accused in the slaying of a Frostproof man on Sunday have been arrested on charges of first degree murder, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said.

Romeo Augusto Lemos, 37, Jose Santos Mata, 34, and Jorge Santos Mata, 22, are being held without bail today at Polk County Jail.

Detectives say the trio got into an argument with Julio Villatoro, 31, on Sunday night after Villatoro returned from a party. The argument escalated and Villatoro was taken outside the residence at 68 Brooks Ridge Road in Frostproof, detectives say.

Villatoro was held down while his throat was cut, Polk County sheriff's spokeswoman Donna Wood said in a written statement. His body was then dumped in a nearby pond.

Deputies were called to the Brooks Ridge Road address—the home of a harvesting business—about 8 a.m. on Monday. Lemos told deputies that Villatoro had killed himself and was lying near a tree line.

When deputies searched the area, they could not find a body. Lemos then told deputies that the Mata brothers moved Villatoro's body, Wood said.

Lemos was taken into custody Monday. The Mata brothers had fled south to Avon Park and were arrested late Monday afternoon.

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