Florida man hammers and stabs girlfriend's nephews, 12 and 13, to death while staying with her family as a guest
MELROSE, FLORIDA: A 30-year-old man was charged with brutally murdering two adolescent boys. According to the Orlando Sentinel, the family of the two boys had invited the murder suspect, Mark Wilson Jr, the boyfriend of the boys’ aunt to stay with them on the property in northeast Florida. He was a long-time family friend, as well. At a news conference on Friday, August 28, Florida State Attorney RJ Larizza spoke about the alleged murder of the boys with hammer and knife.
"I can tell you, I’ve been working in the criminal justice system since 1980 and these are some of the most brutal murders that I’ve ever heard of,” Larizza said. “He attacked these two kids without mercy." Both the murder weapons, the hammer and the knife, have been recovered. Wilson was arrested by the police on Thursday, August 27 night. The mother woke up to find the bodies of her sons Robert (12) and Tayten (13) in the house. The father, who is a truck driver, was not home at that time. The Bakers had invited Wilson and his girlfriend to live in a shed on their property.
"It’s such tragedy when anyone loses their life, especially when two bright men like Robert and Tayten and it’s just absolutely horrifying to me...” Putnam County Sheriff Gator DeLoach said during the conference. “...as a parent, that these two young men lost their life prematurely and their parents are having to endure this.”
According to Click Orlando, the Baker family had only just relocated to Melrose, Florida, which is south of Jacksonville, a couple of weeks ago. “They did a lot to help him and, unfortunately, it ended in the deaths of Robert and Tayten,” Sheriff DeLoach said about Wilson Jr. Investigators are still trying to uncover the motives of the murder.
On his Facebook page, Sheriff DeLoach wrote: “…The sick monster responsible for Tayten and Robert’s brutal murder was arrested last night. Unfortunately, Robert and Tayten were the ones who suffered whatever was going through Wilson’s twisted agenda. As a parent, the murders of Robert and Tayten are an unimaginable loss to a family. I can’t begin to understand the anguish their parents are suffering. My sincere hope is that the death penalty is pursued in these senseless murders.”
Wilson Jr has had a prolific record of drug and property offenses, but has never been charged with violent crimes. He has received charges of two counts of first-degree, premeditated murder for allegedly slaying the boys with a knife and hammer. Larizza appreciated the local officials who apprehended Wilson so quickly, saying, “this case is an example of how two horrific murders can be solved in a matter of 48 hours by working together.”
Currently, deputies are investigating whether anyone else was involved in the murders. Wilson Jr is supposed to make his appearance on Saturday, August 29. He is in jail without bond.