MIAMI BEACH, FL — An 83-year-old resident of a senior living facility is facing an attempted murder charge after he allegedly stabbed his property manager multiple times during a confrontation over a failed apartment inspection. The violent attack, which took place on August 4, 2025, was captured in its entirety by a hallway surveillance camera.
The suspect, John Gula, is being held without bail. The victim, property manager Amelia Sola Ortiz, was rushed to a trauma hospital for her injuries.
A Dispute Turns Violent
According to an arrest affidavit, the incident began when Ortiz went to the 10th floor of the Rebecca Towers high-rise to speak with Gula about the "state of his apartment" following a recent failed inspection.
Surveillance video shows Ortiz encountering Gula and his girlfriend, Rosinda Arellana, in a hallway near an elevator. After a verbal exchange, Gula drops the items in his hands, pulls out a foldable pocket knife, and lunges at Ortiz, attacking her just out of the camera's initial view.
The struggle then spills back into the hallway, where the footage shows a wounded Ortiz managing to disarm Gula and throw the knife down the hall. As she begins to bleed profusely from her torso and head, Gula produces a second knife and attempts to attack her again. At this point, his girlfriend, Arellana, intervenes and holds him back.
The Aftermath and Arrest
The video shows the wounded property manager stumbling away down the hallway, holding her chest and crying for help. A witness recalled hearing her scream, "Help me, help me." Ortiz was able to take refuge inside another resident's apartment, where she collapsed before first responders arrived.
Meanwhile, Gula took an elevator down to the seventh floor and hid in his girlfriend's apartment. Police used the building's CCTV footage to track his movements and located him there. Officers found him leaving a bathroom with blood-stained shoes and took him into custody.
Gula was charged with one count of second-degree attempted murder with a deadly weapon. According to the affidavit, he has invoked his Fifth Amendment right and has not spoken with investigators. He is being held at the Metrowest Detention Center, with a court hearing scheduled for November 20.
"This appears to be an isolated incident between the property manager, who’s the victim, and a resident, who’s the offender, over a property dispute," Miami Beach Police spokesperson Christopher Bess told local news. "It escalated, and unfortunately, the property manager was stabbed."
