Residents lived in terror as Tampa police conducted a massive manhunt for the killer. The shootings all took place less than a mile from each other in southeast Seminole Heights. Ward said she will likely make a ruling sometime next week.ĭonaldson, 28, stands accused of fatally shooting Benjamin Mitchell, Monica Hoffa, Anthony Naiboa and Ronald Felton in October and November 2017. “We believe the court should find there is no meaningful relationship between these killings,” Assistant Public Defender Dana Herce-Fulgueira said. “The fact that the State (and even the media and/or public) has ‘defined’ the case and the Defendant as a ‘serial’ case/killer does not, in and of itself, make the crimes committed similar to each other in that regard,” Ward wrote in her ruling.ĭefense attorneys referenced that document in their argument against the state’s Williams Rule request, saying the judge had already highlighted the many differences in the cases.
on Monday at Edison Elementary School to talk about the murders and how to stay safe.Related: Tampa’s Seminole Heights killings to be subject of four trials, judge rules Tampa police plan to hold a community meeting with residents at 6:30 p.m. The search continues for a person of interest wearing a hoodie seen in surveillance video in the area on the night of the first murder.Ī $25,000 reward is being offered by Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay and ATF for information leading to an arrest and conviction in the killings.Īnyone with information is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 800-873-TIPS. The weapon was linked to all 4 murders via ballistic testing. Was caught after his employer found a gun in Howell Donaldsons bag at work and called police. Stalked and shot four people walking alone at night in the Seminole Heights neighborhood in Tampa, FL in late 2016.
“When you look at the timeframe, the proximity, that there is no apparent motive, that they are alone, the victims are a lot of the time, it's clear to me that they're all linked,” Dugan said.ĭugan has stopped short of using the term ‘serial killer.’ Howell Donaldson: AKA the Seminole Heights Serial Killer. Investigators have been unable to find any link between the three victims, but they remain convinced the murders are somehow connected. "We have someone who's terrorizing the neighborhood," Dugan told reporters during a press conference on Friday. he would go on Aware that the Seminole Heights Killer was on the loose. Last week, Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan expressed his frustration and anger with the case. And while cops dont think a serial killer has been on the loose As of September. Her body was found the next day in a vacant lot near the intersection of East New Orleans Avenue and North 10th Street. Monica Hoffa, 32, was shot and killed on Oct. 10 while waiting at a bus stop near North 15th Street and East Frierson Avenue-about 100 yards from where Naiboa was shot, according to police. They had deployed extra patrols in the area after the two other murders in 10 days.īenjamin Mitchell, 22, was killed Oct. Police heard the shots that killed Naiboa. Leopold and Loeb’s Thrill Killing of Bobby Franks OctoIn 'Crimes of the Century'. This is Where BTK Slaughtered the Otero Family OctoIn 'Serial killers'. We won’t be afraid and you won’t get away with it," Casimar Naiboa said, before dropping to his knees in prayer. The Murder of Kelsey Grammer’s Sister Karen NovemIn 'Spree Killers'. "I just hope that someone just realizes the pain that our family, Monica’s family, as well as Benjamin’s family is going through because justice has to prevail," Rodriguez said.Īs the group stopped Sunday night at the place where Naiboa was killed, his father told the crowd that whomever did this to his son would pay. Sunday’s walk was requested by Naiboa’s family. Tampa police said the recent high school graduate who had autism, had accidentally taken the wrong bus home and ended up in the Seminole Heights neighborhood. He was found shot to death on a sidewalk the night of Oct. "Stand up, not only for Monica, not only for Benjamin, not only for Anthony, but stand up as a community," said Maria Rodriguez, the stepmother of Anthony Naiboa. Rather than be scared, people who attended the vigil said they wanted to show that they stood in support of the victims and their families. Sunday evening hundreds joined together, quietly walking with candles in hand to the locations where each victim was found. – Three murders in less than two weeks in one Tampa area neighborhood continue to rattle residents and frustrate friends and family of the victims as police continue to search for a killer. Watch Video: Person of interest in Tampa killings