CLEARWATER — At age 69, Mary Ring had all sorts of medical problems, according to a former tenant — diabetes, bone problems, muscle problems.
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"She was sweet," said John Elton Chantry, 54. "But she was a mess."
Chantry lived with Ring as a tenant and a roommate in two different Clearwater homes over a five-year period. But renting a room meant being her caretaker, too, he said.
"I’d take her to the store, go shopping for her, help her if she needed help getting to the bathroom," Chantry said. "I did what I could."
Officers conducting a welfare check found Ring shot to death at her home Monday morning, victim of a homicide, Clearwater police said. Her two most recent tenants face charges in connection with the slaying.
Lawrence Edward Cannon, 42, was arrested on a charge of first-degree murder, and Jennifer Elam, 44, on a charge of accessory after the fact to first-degree murder.
They told detectives that Cannon shot her to death in the home at 1132 Engman St. on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 5, and they have spent the past two weeks trying to decide how to dispose of her body, according to police.
Clearwater police said the suspects were not working as her caretakers.
Former tenant Chantry said he moved out of the home he was sharing with Ring five years ago and had lost contact with her.
He met her through her daughter, Tracy Ring, who was a friend of his. The daughter died about five years ago, Chantry said.
He remembered his former landlord as someone who was easy to get along with.
"Everyone loved her," he said, then he added with a chuckle, "but she didn’t put up with garbage. If she thought you were not being truthful, she let you know."
Chantry first lived with Ring in an apartment on Alpine Road before they both moved into the home on Engman.
"She was a little demanding," he said with a laugh. "I had to be on call 24/7."
The stepfather of suspect Cannon said he was shocked at first to hear what had become of the boy he helped raise — then he reconsidered, saying an addiction to pain pills had put Cannon on a dark path.
"I knew he had a little bit of a temper but I never knew him to get into fights," said the stepfather, Larry Pearson, 58, and now living in Tennessee.
"But we hadn’t spoken in more than two years. I kicked him to the curb for stealing from me. Drugs got hold of him."
Cannon’s only criminal record involves two incidents in 2003, one misdemeanor charge of possession of marijuana and paraphernalia and the other misdemeanor charges of possession of inhaling paraphernalia.
"He was a very nice, sweet, honest kid who helped his mother with anything," Pearson said. "He played a little sports, worked on cars, and then doted on his daughter when she was born."
Cannon’s daughter is 18 and lives in Tampa area, he said, but he declined to identify her.
Cannon’s wife, Sheila Cannon died in 2014, Pearson said. It was around then that Cannon’s addiction to drugs spiked.
Stay with tampabay.com for updates.
Times senior researcher John Martin contributed to this report. Contact Paul Guzzo at pguzzo@tampabay.com. Follow @PGuzzoTimes.
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