In a bizarre twist of faith, a Ruskin woman's quest for mystical insight ended with a stark encounter with crime. Carola Mitchell, a 52-year-old fortune teller, has been accused of using her psychic services not to enlighten but to steal, according to authorities. It was during a supposed reading on May 16 that Mitchell allegedly held Judith Ramirez at gunpoint, robbing her of an undisclosed sum. As reported by FOX 13 News, instead of foreseeing futures, the fortune teller foreclosed on her victim's property.
Mitchell’s scheme reportedly began with mundane requests for Mexican food and water at the victim's door, who unsuspectingly allowed her inside. Presenting a gun, the accused transitioned from guest to gunman, officials said. The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office linked Mitchell to the crime following the analysis of surveillance footage from the area, showing a white Nissan Rouge with fraudulent Texas plates. Further evidence placing Mitchell at the scene came from multiple locations, including a 7-Eleven gas station in Davenport, the sheriff's office narrated.
On June 10, the trailing investigations led to Mitchell's arrest in Bradenton. During interrogation, she admitted to detectives that her fortune telling was merely "a ruse to gain entry into victims' homes to commit robberies or thefts of cash and jewelry," as mentioned in an interview with the sheriff's office by WTSP. Mitchell also confessed to using WhatsApp to acquire the fake vehicle tags. This admission peeled back the curtain to reveal a series of deceptions, leaving authorities to wonder how many other victims may have been beguiled by her faux psychic allure.
Investigators, diving deeper, have requested a search warrant for Mitchell's phone – a device she allegedly keeps with her "at all times." As the sheriff's deputies hope to uncover, the phone may contain damning evidence placing her at the scenes of the robberies and potentially revealing communications with other victims. According to WFLA News, there's a suspicion that this is not an isolated incident, and the phone's content could be the atlas charting the breadth of Mitchell's criminal odyssey.
