Florida Fishing Massacre

 

The suspects in the brutal murder of three friends on a fishing trip went to McDonald's and ordered 10 double cheeseburgers immediately after the killings, says the local sheriff.

He described last Friday's incident in a rural area of Florida as a "massacre" and one of the worst murder scenes he had witnessed in decades of policing.

Three people have now been charged, with the sheriff saying the victims had been followed to a remote lake and allegedly shot multiple times by a man described as "pure evil".

Wiggins has been charged with first-degree murder.

Tony "TJ" Wiggins - charged with first-degree murder - has 230 prior felony charges and is only 26-years-old, said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.

"He's a thug, he's a criminal. He's pure evil in the flesh. He's wild and out of control," he told reporters.

His brother, William "Robert" Wiggins, 21, and girlfriend Mary Whittemore have been charged with being an accessory to the killings.

They were all found on Monday, living "off grid" in trailers in the woods, with no running water or electricity.

The sheriff said the group had encountered one of the victims at a shop in Frostproof, a city about 58 miles east of Tampa, as he prepared to join his friends for night fishing.

He said alleged killer TJ Wiggins was behind Damion Tillman in the queue, with CCTV showing them chatting.

"From body language it wasn't violent or animated - it was just a normal conservation," said Sheriff Judd.

Mr Tillman headed to the lake to meet his friends - Keven Springfield and Brandon Rollins - with Wiggins following him out the store just before 10pm.

He's said to have ordered his brother to drive to the remote spot after hearing Mr Springfield was part of the fishing trip.

Once there, Sheriff Judd said Wiggins pulled out a gun and punched the 30-year-old as he sat in his vehicle, after accusing him of "selling the engine out of my truck".

Investigators say it is unclear whether there was an actual truck deal between the two men.

"He starts shooting Keven and Brandon inside of the white truck... it's estimated nine to 10 times," said Sheriff Judd.

"Then he turns on Damion and begins to shoot Damion - who's got his door open - several times."

The victims were discovered a short time later by Mr Rollins's father after his son made a frantic call for help before he died.

He drove to the fishing spot about 10 minutes away and found his son still breathing.

However, he had forgotten his mobile phone and went to a nearby shop for help. By the time paramedics arrived at the lake, Mr Rollins had died.

After disposing of the gun, the sheriff told reporters on Wednesday that the group "immediately" went to McDonald's, where they ordered "10 double cheeseburgers and two McChickens".

The sheriff said: "They go through the drive-through, it's very quiet, TJ simply says 'we weren't there'. And that's all the conservation they will admit to."

Sheriff Judd, who has worked at the department for 48 years, said the bloody aftermath of the killings was "a horrific scene".

"I've been to a lot of murder scenes and this ranked among the worst I've been to," he said.

The suspects are due in court for the first time on Thursday.

Days after three friends who went for a nighttime fishing trip were found shot to death in rural Florida, the authorities said on Wednesday that they had arrested and charged three people responsible for the “massacre.”

Grady Judd, the sheriff of Polk County, Fla., said that Tony Wiggins, 26, shot and killed the three friends after he ran into one of them, Damion Tillman, in a Dollar General store. He heard that Mr. Tillman planned to meet a friend, Keven Springfield, to fish at a lake, the sheriff said.

Mr. Wiggins later told his brother to drive him and his girlfriend to the lake.

There, Mr. Wiggins punched Mr. Springfield and accused him of selling the engine from his truck, Sheriff Judd said.

After Mr. Springfield said he didn’t know what Mr. Wiggins was talking about, Mr. Wiggins shot and killed Mr. Springfield, 30, and Brandon Rollins, 27. They were shot nine to 10 times altogether, Sheriff Judd said.

Mr. Wiggins then turned and fatally shot Mr. Tillman, 23, who had been screaming at Mr. Wiggins to put the gun down, Sheriff Judd said.

The killings last Friday shocked Frostproof, Fla., a city of 3,200 people about 70 miles south of Orlando.

Sheriff Judd described the killings as a “massacre” and said the crime scene — in a quiet area of lakes, cow pastures and orange groves — was one of the worst he had encountered in nearly 50 years with the department.

He said investigators had not yet determined whether there had actually been a truck deal gone bad between Mr. Wiggins and Mr. Springfield.

“The only conflict we see is this: ‘Where’s my truck? I heard you sold the engine out of my truck,’” Sheriff Judd said. “And for that, this guy massacres three young men — 23, 27 and 30 — on their way fishing Friday night, near Frostproof. It’s gut-wrenching. This is evil in the flesh.”

Mr. Wiggins, who is known as TJ, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. First-degree murder is a capital offense in Florida.

Mr. Wiggins’s girlfriend, Mary Whittemore, 27, was charged with accessory after the fact of a capital felony. Sheriff Judd said she had bought the ammunition that Mr. Wiggins fired that night and then lied to investigators to protect her boyfriend.

Mr. Wiggins’s brother, William Wiggins, 21, was charged with tampering with evidence and accessory after the fact of a capital felony, Sheriff Judd said. The sheriff said that the younger Mr. Wiggins took the truck that was used that night to a carwash to scrub off red mud that was caked on the vehicle.

The sheriff said so many tips about the killings had flooded into the department that a call center had to bring on extra help. Many of the callers had urged the authorities to investigate Mr. Wiggins, who was well known in Frostproof for being quick to resort to violence, Sheriff Judd said.

“The predominant information we got was, ‘Look at TJ Wiggins from Frostproof,’” Sheriff Judd said. “It’s not that they had any idea that he did it. But this guy is just mean.”

Mr. Wiggins, he said, had been sent to state prison twice and was most recently out on bail on charges that he broke a man’s arm with a crowbar during a fight.

It was not immediately clear if Mr. Wiggins, his younger brother or Ms. Whittemore had lawyers. The sheriff’s department said all three were in custody and scheduled to appear in court on Thursday.

Sheriff Judd said investigators tied Mr. Wiggins to the killings through video footage from the Dollar General store and by matching a shell casing found in Mr. Wiggins’s trailer with the ammunition that was fired from the Smith & Wesson handgun that was used in the killings.

Ms. Whittemore acknowledged buying the ammunition for her boyfriend on July 9, and both were seen on video surveillance buying it at a store, Sheriff Judd said. Detectives also have a receipt from the purchase, he said.

William Wiggins told detectives that he watched his brother shoot the three victims, the sheriff’s department said.

The victims were discovered after Mr. Rollins’s father, who was asleep at home, got a call from his son saying, “Help,” the sheriff said. Mr. Rollins’s father, Cyril, got dressed and drove to the lake where he knew his son and friends were catfishing, about 10 minutes away, Sheriff Judd said.

He arrived to find the friends shot, Sheriff Judd said. Cyril Rollins then drove to a convenience store, telling an attendant, “My son needs help,” the sheriff said.

The 17-year-old daughter of the store’s attendant went back with Cyril Rollins to the lake, Sheriff Judd said. Before Brandon Rollins died, he said something to his father about what happened, the sheriff said. Sheriff Judd declined to comment on what Mr. Rollins told his father.

By the time paramedics and the authorities arrived, all three men were dead.