NATALIE BELMONTE FOUND MURDERED; SON CHARGED

A SUCCESSFUL Florida real estate agent who vanished over the weekend has been found murdered and her son charged in the sickening crime. Pembroke Pines realtor Natalie Belmonte, 43, was found dead in a marsh near her home yesterday with "visible signs of trauma." Now, her adopted son Gerard Belmonte Lopes, 21, has been charged.
According to the Miami Herald, even after Lopes admitted to stealing thousands of dollars in jewelry from her, his mom begged a judge to give the boy a second chance. Belmonte adopted Gerard, her cousin, after the boy’s father died when he was just 9. She also has a daughter, 20, and son, 17.

Three years ago, she accused Gerard of stealing $20,000 in jewels and selling it to a pawn shop. he admitted the theft but was only arrested in June. Natalie had
changed her mind about pressing charges.

Bad decision, apparently. Telling the judge "that her son had gotten his life together in the last three years, she did not want to press charges." And now, the bubbly, stunning brunette is dead. MORE IN THE MIAMI HERALD