FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – A Pembroke Pines man accused of killing his adoptive mother pleaded not guilty Monday morning.
Gerard Lopes, 21, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of his adoptive mother, Natalie Anne Belmonte, a 43-year-old real estate agent.
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Despite what appears to be a mountain of evidence against him, Lopes, who also goes by Gerard Belmonte, basically told the judge during his arraignment Monday he did not kill his adoptive mother.
Detectives said a neighbor's surveillance camera captured video showing someone resembling Lopes coming out of the house last month, dragging a large object to a car, on the day Belmonte was reported missing.
The arrest affidavit said police found blood and signs of a "violent struggle" in the house, as well as bags containing bloody towels, clothing and bedding in a nearby trash bin. The report said the clothes in the bag matched the clothes worn by the person in the video, and a preliminary DNA test of the blood on the clothing confirmed that it was Belmonte's.
After three days of searching, police found Belmonte's body in a marshy area less than a mile from her home. Police said she died from blunt-force trauma to her head.
Lopes was arrested that same day. It wasn't his first arrest; he was arrested and accused of stealing $20,000 in jewelry from Belmonte in 2008. He turned himself in last month and was released from jail three days before he reported Belmonte missing.
Investigators have not said anything about a motive.
Lopes remains in jail, awaiting his next hearing Oct. 13.