A Forsyth County woman charged last year with neglect in the death of her elderly mother has now been charged with felony murder.
The upgraded charges were levied against Amalia Ramirez, 54, after the Forsyth County Sheriff's Office received final autopsy results on the body of Himilice Ramirez, 83.
"Once the report came back, our investigators - our detectives - were able to get a warrant on April 30, 2019 based on the autopsy from the GBI, and the warrant was for felony murder," said Forsyth County Sheriff's Cpl. Doug Rainwater.
The initial arrest in the case occurred on Dec. 6, 2018 when deputies went to the Ramirez home on Bridle Drive in North Forsyth County in response to a third-party caller who told authorities the younger Ramirez had been behaving in an odd manner.
"The third party was actually out of state and had been speaking with [Amalia Ramirez] by phone and text messages," Rainwater said.
He said once deputies arrived at the home, they knew something was wrong.
"The daughter invited us in the house...at that point our deputies could smell death," Rainwater said. "It's an unmistakable smell, so our deputies knew someone in that house had died."
Rainwater said the daughter showed deputies her mother's body in a bedroom.
Amalia Ramirez was arrested at that time on charges of elderly neglect and exploitation/intimidation of the elderly. She bonded out of jail on Dec. 29, 2018. According to Rainwater, she returned to the residence on Bridle Drive and had been living there ever since.
Rainwater said Ramirez was arrested in Chamblee on Monday when the police department in that city detected her vehicle with a license tag reader.
Amalia Ramirez is currently being held in the Forsyth County Jail with no bond.
