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Dead Woman, Capuchin Monkeys Found In Bizarre Motel Scene [Video]

By Christian Savoy
Published on: 10:04 PST, Jan 31, 2016

A dead woman along with two live Capuchin monkeys and a note were found in a bizarre hotel scene in Florida. Authorities say the Capuchin monkeys, which are mostly found in the Northern parts of Argentina, were being kept in crates, according to a statement from the North Port police.

The dead woman was identified as 59-year-old Linda Marie Smith of Arcadia, Florida. KTLA reports that Smith’s lifeless body was found around 2 p.m. Friday at a Budget Inn in North Port, Florida, which is located in Sarasota County. At this point, police are still trying to determine how the woman died, and there were no obvious signs of trauma to her body. The cause of death is under investigation. However, it may take a while for the autopsy results to come back.

“There was no obvious signs of trauma to Smith’s body,” a police spokesperson was quoted as saying. “The cause of death is undetermined at this point. The medical examiner will soon conduct an autopsy.”

Police also found a man they described as “incoherent,” in the room with the dead woman and two Capuchin monkeys. The report states that he had to receive medical attention and he is currently being questioned by authorities. As of the time of this report, his identity has not yet been released and he was not arrested. Police also didn’t discuss what was said in the note and did not disclose its message.

“The gentleman was a little combative,” said Josh Taylor of North Port police. “We have taken him in for questioning in hopes that he will answer some of the questions of why these folks were here, why this situation came to be.”

The Capuchin monkeys are said to have been found in good health, and they were turned over to officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

https://www.facebook.com/NorthPortPD/photos/a.1578275652461802.1073741828.1576987029257331/1680648115557888/?type=3

Details in the strange case are scarce and updates will posted to this column as they are made available.

Capuchin monkeys are very smart animals, and they are considered to be the most intelligent of New World Monkeys. As a result, they are often used in lab experiments, MonkeyWorlds said in a report.

Capuchins are so intelligent that they can be taught to understand the concept of money. A group of Yale researchers trained seven Capuchin monkeys how to use money back in 2005, and after several months, the animals realized they could exchange coins for valuables and even learned to manage their money.

“The capuchin has a small brain, and it’s pretty much focused on food and sex,” said Keith Chen, a Yale economist who along with Laurie Santos, a psychologist, are the two researchers who have had made the study. “You should really think of a capuchin as a bottomless stomach of want,” Chen says. “You can feed them marshmallows all day, they’ll throw up and then come back for more.”

[Image via Twitter]

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