A man and woman are wanted for killing three women and the attempted murder of a fourth — a violent spree that Florida authorities are calling a “running nightmare.”
Escambia County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Chip Simmons warned residents in western Florida on Monday to take a good look at the wanted poster for William “Billy” Boyette, 44, and Mary Craig Rice, who allegedly shot Kayla Crocker, a 28-year-old mother, during a home invasion in Pensacola and stole her 2006 white Chevrolet Cobalt emblazoned with a sticker in the back window depicting a skull and crossbones.
“What we’re experiencing is a running nightmare, quite honestly,” Simmons told reporters. “In short, we have a killer and he is in our midst, has been in our midst. Everyone, and I mean everyone, should be aware of what they look like, how they’ve been traveling and take the appropriate measures.”
The duo are also suspected of killing Alicia Greer, 30, and Jacqueline Jeanette Moore, 39, whose bodies were found at a hotel in Milton on Jan. 31, as well as the death of Peggy Broz, 52, who was found shot in Lillian, Alabama, last Friday. Police have said Greer was in a relationship with Boyette, but the other victims have no known connection to the Bonnie and Clyde couple.
Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan said the cases were “difficult” to speak about due to their random nature, at least pertaining to the two most recent victims.
“It is difficult to speak about this, ladies and gentlemen, because these are the cases that we in law enforcement fear, where we have what is, apparently with the last two victims anyway, a random selection,” Morgan told reporters Monday. “And so therefore, much to our disappointment and primarily to our frustration, you know, we’re chasing a lot of shadows and a lot of rumors.”
Morgan said Boyette and Rice – who also stole Broz’s white 2003 Chrysler Concorde – have managed to stay mobile. Deputies have been searching a wooded area near Nine Mile Road after surveillance footage showed them in the area on Monday. Investigators are also scouring possible encampments and are using canine teams during the searches, the Pensacola News Journal reports.
‘In short, we have a killer and he is in our midst, has been in our midst. Everyone, and I mean everyone, should be aware of what they look like, how they’ve been traveling and take the appropriate measures.’
The county’s school system is open on Tuesday, but district officials are staying in close touch with local law enforcement.
“With many of our students’ parents needing to go to work, we would not want to risk parents having to leave their students at home alone,” read a statement by Escambia County Public Schools Superintendent Malcolm Thomas released late Monday. “Should local authorities advise we act otherwise, we will update the local media as appropriate.”
Investigators from a number of agencies, including the Santa Rosa Sheriff’s Office, US Marshals and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, among others, are working the manhunt — which is now in its second week.
Morgan said Boyette, who has arrests dating back 15 years, is a long-time drug abuser and known to be a heavy user of spice, or synthetic marijuana.
“These people stay away for four, five, six days at a time,” Morgan said. “So, again, he’s made this statement to many, many people that he will not be taken alive. So again, in law enforcement we take those threats and those admonitions very seriously.”
A spokeswoman for the sheriff’s department told The Post that the manhunt for Boyette and Rice was ongoing as of early Tuesday. The pair’s exact relationship remains unclear, but Morgan said investigators are treating her as a suspect instead of a possible kidnapping victim because she had opportunities to “make an escape, to walk away” from Boyette and even dyed her hair orange.
“But she has returned continually to him,” Morgan told reporters. “So at this point in time, we upgraded her status, if you will, and she will be treated as a suspect with any contact with law enforcement.”
Crocker, meanwhile, remained in critical condition early Tuesday, the Washington Post reports. Her 2-year-old son, who was also home at the time, was not harmed.
Boyette and Rice were last seen traveling in a white Chevrolet Cobalt with Florida tags 6913BJ. Rewards totaling $21,000 are being offered for information leading to an arrest. Anyone with information about their whereabouts is asked to call police at (850) 433-STOP.
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