LAKE COUNTY, Fla. – The Lake County Sheriff’s Office on Tuesday announced that an arrest warrant has been obtained in the death of a Eustis woman who was found dead in Mount Dora after her daughter reported her missing earlier this year.
Lake County deputies said 44-year-old Monica Islam’s body was found on May 2 near Scenic Hills Drive and Wolf Branch Road.
Originally from Bangladesh, Monica Islam moved to Eustis in 2021 with her daughter and worked as a cashier in a local convenience store.
According to the sheriff’s office, an arrest warrant was obtained for Monica Islam’s brother-in-law, Shahidul Islam.
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Deputies said during a domestic violence incident in December 2024, Monica Islam’s husband, Rashedul Islam, had hit her and stolen her jewelry along with paperwork for property in Bangladesh. Shahidul Islam had pointed a gun at her and told her not to call 911 during the incident, according to the sheriff’s office.
“Six months ago, you have everybody and your family, but now you have nobody,” said Monica Islam’s daughter, Rimi Islam. “It’s just crazy.”
“I want her to get the justice,” Islam said. “I want, if my dad is involved, if my uncle is involved, I want them to get the punishment, whatever they deserve, because my mom didn’t deserve that. Me, the things I’m going through now, anxiety, panic, it’s no joke.”
The Eustis Police Department had responded and an arrest warrant was obtained, but Rashedul Islam “fled the country prior to the arrest warrant being served,” the sheriff’s office said.
“Her husband had battered her and stolen jewelry from her,” said Lake County Sheriff’s Office Captain John Herrell. “Stolen paperwork for some property that was a subject of dispute over in Bangladesh. And in that domestic violence incident, Shahidul had actually pulled a gun on her and threatened her to not call 911. So, we knew that there’s this ongoing dispute over property in Bangladesh.”
Herrell said on the morning Islam was found, Shahidul left his Longwood apartment at 3:30 in the morning and arrived at the gas station where Monica was by 5:15.
“Just after 5:30, he called her and then you can see her on security footage coming out of that gas station approaching his car,” Herrell said. “The car left with her and then shortly thereafter, her body was found there on Wolf Branch Road and Scenic Hill Drive. What’s interesting is just about 6:30 that morning, Shahidul had searched the internet for information concerning this very murder.”
Detectives with the sheriff’s office learned that Shahidul Islam had previously been deported and had an active federal immigration warrant after illegally re-entering the U.S.
Shahidul Islam was connected with a home in Sanford before fleeing to New York shortly after Monica Islam’s murder, deputies said.
“Apparently, he had entered the US illegally in 2020 and then again in 2023,” Herrell said. “So since May 6, he has been in federal custody on that federal warrant for illegal reentry.”
“But to be clear, we do not want him deported, we want him to be brought back here to Lake County so he can be held accountable for Monica’s homicide,” Herrell said.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office said the cause of death was determined to be a gunshot wound, and the manner of death is classified as homicide.