Florida triple murder suspects took their truck to a car wash to clean off clay from the killing scene
BARTOW, FLORIDA: Footage from a Florida convenience store shows suspects of a triple murder that happened on July 17 following one of their victims just 10 minutes before the brutal killings. The surveillance video shows the brothers, Tony "TJ" Wiggins, 26, and Robert Wiggins, 21, and the elder one’s 27-year-old girlfriend Mary Whittemore, inside the Dollar General store while one of the victims Damion Tillman was also there.
Robert has admitted to police that he and his elder brother Tony were standing at the counter behind Tillman. The 21-year-old also said that after Tillman walked out of the store, Tony asked him to turn their truck onto a particular road. At the direction of his elder brother, Robert drove and reached a popular lake in Frostproof, where Tillman went to meet his friends - the other two victims in the case, Keven Springfield, 30; and Brandon Rollins, 27. According to Robert, Tony got out of the vehicle and confronted Springfield accusing him of stealing his truck. He then reportedly shot all the three men before driving off and going to nearby McDonald’s. The suspects reportedly ordered ten double cheeseburgers and two McChicken sandwiches and went back to their trailer to eat them.
“It’s estimated, and this is still under investigation, that (TJ) Wiggins begins shooting inside of the truck, where Keven is in the driver’s side and Brandon is seated on the passenger’s side. He shoots, between the two of them, nine or 10 times. Then he shoots Damion, who has gotten back in his truck,” detectives told WPLG.
After the Friday triple murder, Robert took their truck to a car wash in Lake Wales on Saturday, July 18, to clean off the clay from the murder scene. The trio was arrested on Monday, July 20, as they were found “living off the grid”. Tony has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder while Robert faces three counts of accessory to murder and tampering with evidence. The girlfriend of the elder sibling has been charged with three counts of accessory to murder.
During the arrest, police also found two SKS rifles, two Mossberg shotguns, and ammunition for both in a gun safe belonging to Tony in one of the trailers.
In a statement on Wednesday, July 22, police said: “During a search of the crime scene, detectives found a Dollar General bag and receipt dated the night of the murders, and worked their way backwards from there. They responded to the Dollar General store, and retrieved store video surveillance that showed one of the victims - Damion Tillman - making some purchases.
“Detectives spoke with the clerk, who knows Damion as a frequent customer. The clerk told detectives that Damion said he was going fishing. The clerk also saw the suspects in the store at the same time, and they are also seen in the video. The clerk told detectives that the suspects heard Damion say he was going fishing, and that Keven would be with him, as the clerk listened to all of them talk to each other about it.”
Meanwhile, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said that both Tony and Whittemore were not cooperating with police in the investigation.