Facility staff contacted the Sheriff’s 9-1-1 Dispatch Center advising that Mody told them he had beaten a woman to death in his room. Deputies arrived to find the female victim on the bed in the suspect’s room with facial injuries, not breathing and unconscious. She was pronounced deceased on the scene by paramedics.
The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) arrested 72-year-old Cliff Mody and charged him with Second-Degree Murder in the death of a 77-year-old resident at the Gold Choice Assisted Living & Memory Care facility in Palm Coast. FCSO Major Case Unit (MCU) Detectives arrested Mody just before 5 p.m., Wednesday, May 11, 2022, after an all-day investigation that began 15 hours earlier. Mody allegedly stated that he told the victim to leave his room but she did not, ‘so he decided to strike her in the head multiple times with an open hand’, a deputy stated in the charging affidavit. Mody claimed that the woman bit his arm, but apparently he did not have injuries. MCU Detective James Crosbee worked the case and remained at Gold Choice for the entire investigation, helping keep the crime scene secure and the residents safe.
The charging affidavit reportedly stated: “Cliff advised that he then put (the victim) in a choke hold and that he put as much pressure as he could, later admitting to knowing that this action would restrict her airway and possibly kill her. When asked why Cliff chose to take such violent action, he responded by advising that he was “mad.” The victim reportedly had a diminished mental capacity that caused her to enter the rooms of other residents and try to lie in bed with them. Mody allegedly had a history of attacking others. Source
“This arrest is the result of a thorough on-scene investigation by our Major Case Unit at this facility,” Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families involved and we worked hard to make sure the suspect is held accountable for his actions. Families need to know that their loved ones are safe when they are moved into the care of any facility and I encourage them to always conduct thorough facility research. I commend Detective Crosbee and the team that assisted him in bringing this case to a quick closure.”
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