Three people have been arrested in connection with the horrifying killing of three best friends on a night fishing trip over the weekend, and Florida authorities allege that the suspects went to McDonald’s after the crime sparked by the robbery allegations. of trucks.
Tony “TJ” Wiggins, 26, his girlfriend Mary Whittemore, 27, and brother William “Robert” Wiggins, 21, were arrested Wednesday in connection with Friday’s triple murder on a remote lake in Frostproof, Florida. , according to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.
Authorities say the young Wiggins admitted that his older brother fatally shot Brandon Rollins, 27, Keven Springfield, 30, and Damion Tillman, 23, after accusing one of the friends of “stealing his truck. “
“[Tony’s] a bully, he is a criminal. It is pure evil in the meat. He’s crazy and he’s out of control, “Judd said of the elderly Wiggins, noting that he has” 230 counts on his arrest record “and has been in state prison twice.” Our goal and we pray that our state attorney can seek the death penalty. [Tony] he needs to seek a fair trial … and then be executed. Legally, we can’t run it the same way it did those three guys trying to fish on a Friday night. “
Wiggins has been charged with first-degree murder, tampering with evidence, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and possession of ammunition by a convicted felon. Robert Wiggins and Mary Whittemore have been charged with three counts of accessory to murder and tampering with evidence. Young Wiggins has also been accused of tampering with evidence
“I’ve been through a lot of murder scenes in my life, and this is among the worst I’ve ever been to,” Judd said.
Authorities say the incident began Friday night when Tillman stopped at a Dollar General store before meeting up with his close friends to go catching catfish at night. The Dollar General store employee told detectives that the three suspects had been in the store at the same time, and were also seen in CCTV footage.
“The employee told detectives that the suspects heard Damion say he was going to fish, and that Keven would be with him as the employee heard them all talk about it,” authorities said in a press release.
During a police interview after his arrest, William Wiggins admitted to having seen Tillman at the convenience store with his brother Tony. When they left the store, he said his brother ordered him to “turn on a particular road, instead of going home.” He said two trucks, with all three victims inside, passed them, prompting Tony to demand that William “make a U-turn and follow the trucks.”
The young Wiggins said he followed the three best friends to Lake Streety Road before his brother got out of the car and confronted Springfield and started beating him for “stealing his truck.” Judd said Wednesday that investigators have not yet confirmed whether the theft allegation is true.
Rollins and Tillman got out of their truck to help their friend as Tony continued to yell at all three, the young Wiggins said. During the altercation, “TJ shot all three victims” before asking his brother “to help him put Damion in the back of one of the trucks.”
“After the brutal murders, the three suspects went to McDonald’s, where they ordered 10 double cheeseburgers and two McChicken sandwiches,” authorities said. “They went home to eat.”
Rollins managed to call his father for help. When his father arrived at the remote lake about 10 minutes later, their son was barely alive and the couple were able to have a brief final conversation. When the first responders arrived, all three were dead.
“When I arrived I was looking for my son. It was a disaster. I found my son. I was hugging him. He was telling me what happened, but I was too surprised to know what was going on, “the father, Cyril Rollins, told WFLA-TV.
The next morning, Wiggins, 21, told authorities that he “took his truck to a car wash on Lake Wales and washed the clay” off the remote dirt road to remove evidence.
Authorities said that during a search at the crime scene, detectives found a Dollar General bag received the night of the incident that allowed them to return to discover that Tillman and his murder suspects had been at the store. Detectives on Monday presented a search warrant on a plot of land on Sarver Avenue, where the three suspects lived in a trailer without running water or electricity.
On the property, investigators found “two SKS rifles, two Mossberg shotguns and ammunition for both in a weapons safe belonging to TJ Wiggins.” They also found ammunition matching the shell found in the lake at Frostproof. Detectives said the three suspects “contradicted” each other in interviews with police and that they had inconsistent stories.
“Whittemore admitted to buying ammunition and being with the brothers the night of the murder. She did not make any additional statements, ”authorities said, noting that she and her boyfriend no longer cooperated with detectives. “Brother Wiggins’ statements were inconsistent.”
Judd added Wednesday that, at the time of the killings, Tony Wiggins was out of service for breaking a man’s arm with a crowbar and was waiting to be tried on felony charges. He said additional charges could be brought against the trio.
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