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Venezuelan composer Gus Ormo was found “tied up” and submerged at the bottom of his South Florida backyard pool in a death that authorities have 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 at around 9 am, officials said.
Audio from the 911 dispatcher stated that a person called about a man who had been “tied up” and possibly drowned in a pool.
Aerial footage captured by local media outlet WPLG Local 10 showed a long blue cord tangled on the musician’s patio that led into the lavish backyard pool.
Ormo’s sister, Antonieta Ormo, confirmed to CBS News Miami that Ormo had died but said the family has no further information on the circumstances surrounding his death.
Ormo’s death is being investigated by homicide and crime scene unit detectives, Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Gerdy St. Louis told reporters.
The composer’s body was taken to the Broward County Medical Examiner’s Office, where officials are working to determine a cause of death, CBS reported.
Ormo had kept a low profile in the sleepy gated 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 beyond the pale for the neighborhood.
“It’s weird to happen. It’s not normal, of course,” Mariano Cascata said.
Ormo was fresh off promoting his latest album AGAPE, a piano instrumental album that was described as a “milestone in his career” in an October press release.
“Gus Ormo has always been a sensitive person. He recalls how, as a child, he would listen to records and feel music stirring his deepest emotions,” the release stated.