Venezuelan composer Gus Ormo was found “tied up” and submerged at the bottom of his backyard swimming pool in South Florida in a death that authorities called a “suspicious incident.”
Ormo, a piano virtuoso and singer known for his romantic compositions, was pronounced dead at the scene after Broward County sheriff’s deputies responded to a 911 call around 9 a.m., officials said.
Audio from the 911 dispatcher indicated that a person called about a man who had been “tied up” and possibly drowned in a swimming pool.
Aerial footage captured by local news outlet WPLG Local 10 showed a long blue cord tangled on the musician’s deck that led to the lavish backyard pool.
Ormo’s sister, Antonieta Ormo, confirmed to CBS News Miami that Ormo had died, but said the family had no further information about the circumstances of his death.
Ormo’s death is being investigated by detectives with the homicide and crime scene unit, sheriff’s office spokesperson Gerdy St. Louis told reporters.
The composer’s body was taken to the Broward County medical examiner’s office, where authorities are working to determine the cause of death, CBS reported.
Ormo had kept a low profile in the gated, sleepy community of Weston, neighbors said, and they were shocked to learn of his grisly death.
“It’s sad what happened, and it wasn’t something I expected to happen in Weston,” neighbor Bruno Gedikinan told NBC 6.
Another neighbor described the incident as something completely out of character for the neighborhood.
“It’s weird. It’s not normal, of course,” Mariano Cascata said.
Ormo had just recently promoted his latest album AGAPE, a piano instrumental album that was described as a “career milestone” in an October press release.
“Gus Ormo has always been a sensitive person. He remembers how, as a child, he would listen to records and feel the music stir his deepest emotions,” the statement said.
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