Deputies identified a next-door neighbor as the suspect after the missing woman was found shot inside her vehicle in Lake County.
MOUNT DORA, Fla. — A missing-person investigation in Lake County turned into a double-death investigation after deputies found a woman shot inside her vehicle and later discovered her next-door neighbor dead inside his home, authorities said.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office identified the neighbor as 56-year-old Mathew Devivo of Mount Dora. Investigators believe Devivo was responsible for the woman’s death before he died by suicide, according to local reports citing the sheriff’s office. Authorities had not formally released the woman’s name in the most recent reports reviewed. Family members and neighbors told detectives that she and Devivo had been involved in a long-running dispute over their property lines.
The investigation began after the woman’s daughter went to her mother’s Lake County home because she had been unable to find or contact her. Deputies responding to the missing-person report examined the woman’s vehicle and noticed what authorities described as a bullet hole through the passenger-side window. They also saw blood inside the vehicle, according to the sheriff’s office.
Deputies searched the vehicle and found the woman dead in the rear hatchback area beneath a blanket, authorities said. Investigators determined that she had been shot. The sheriff’s office has not publicly provided a full account of what happened before the shooting or released evidence establishing the exact sequence of events leading to her death.
As detectives gathered information, relatives and people living nearby told investigators about an ongoing disagreement between the woman and Devivo over the boundary between their properties. FOX 35 Orlando reported that family members and neighbors described the disagreement as a yearslong dispute. Authorities have not publicly detailed the history of the disagreement or said what specific event, if any, immediately preceded the woman’s death.
Investigators then focused on Devivo, whose truck remained parked in his driveway, according to authorities. Deputies tried to make contact with him inside his home but received no response. Detectives obtained a search warrant, and a SWAT team was called to the property before law enforcement entered the residence.
Deputies found Devivo dead inside the home. The sheriff’s office said he died from what investigators determined was a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities identified him publicly after the initial reports of the case but continued to withhold the woman’s identity pending their procedures and the continuing investigation.
Neighbors described the Mount Dora community as normally quiet and remembered the woman as an active and well-liked resident. Jeffrey Brown, a neighbor interviewed by FOX 35, said she volunteered with an animal rescue and often took photographs at community gatherings. Her daughter described her mother to the station as faithful and caring. Flowers were placed outside the woman’s home as neighbors mourned her death.
The sheriff’s office has characterized the case as an active investigation. Although investigators suspect Devivo in the woman’s killing, authorities have not publicly released a complete investigative report explaining the evidence behind that conclusion. No additional person had been publicly identified as a suspect in the reports reviewed, and officials said further information would be released as the investigation develops.
As of Aug. 17, investigators had publicly identified Devivo but had not formally released the woman’s name. Authorities also had not announced additional findings that conclusively explained how the property dispute developed into the deadly encounter.
Author note: Last updated August 17, 2026.