Vero Beach/St. Lucie County, Florida (February 3, 2020) – According to an online news report from TCPalm.com, a forty-seven-year-old man was arrested and charged with first-degree homicide in connection with the Tiffany Hall Nursing & Rehab Center murder. The suspect, who maintains physical addresses in both Vero Beach and Fort Pierce, was arrested by law enforcement this past Thursday. The suspect charged with first-degree murder soon after police and local officials had linked the suspect with the January 5, 2020, death of a ninety-five-year-old patient at Tiffany Hall Nursing & Rehab Center per records and an announcement made on Monday by Assistant State Attorney David Dodd.
According to the news report, the suspect had a romantic history with the victim´s girlfriend. Police were called and responded to a midnight emergency call stating that the victim was in the process of ¨being hurt¨ by an individual. Police arrived at Tiffany Hall Nursing & Rehab Center at approximately 12:10 a.m., and the suspect had already left the scene of the attack. The St. Lucie Police reported that one of the nursing home´s nurses walked by the ninety-five-year-old patient´s room, and she witnessed a man on top of the patient´s chest, and the man was attempting to smother the patient using a pillow over the patient´s face. At that moment, the suspect fled the scene, and law enforcement conducted a search but could not find the suspect in the murder.
The victim´s girlfriend reported to police that she had requested several hours before the attack on her boyfriend that Tiffany Hall Nursing & Rehab Center prevent the suspect from visiting the victim. The victim´s girlfriend also stated that the suspect stole her car the day before the attack. She also told police that the suspect said to her that she should kill the victim and that she had a “gut feeling” that the suspect. She stated this was the reason why she asked the nursing home to prevent the suspect from visiting the victim to avoid harm to the victim. The news report also stated that police reviewed visitor logs and the suspect had visited the victim on five separate occasions.
The suspect has been apprehended and was charged with first-degree murder, theft of an automobile, and other criminal offenses. The suspect is currently in the St. Lucie County Jail and is being held without bond.
First-Degree Murder Charges in Florida
According to Florida Statute 782.04 Murder, First-Degree Murder is a capital felony offense. A capital felony in the State of Florida is punishable execution or life in prison without the possibility of parole. Should the prosecutor, in the capital murder criminal trial, decide to see the death penalty as punishment, the prosecutor must provide notice to the defendant. This notice must be delivered to the defendant and filed with the criminal justice court system within 45-days following the date of arraignment. In this notice, there must be a list of factors in which the state intends to prove beyond a reasonable doubt in the capital murder trial.