SPRING HILL, Fla. (WFLA) - A grisly discovery was made in Hernando County on Tuesday, one that could change the course of a decades-old serial killer case. Billy won't be eligible for another parole hearing until 2022. He buried the bodies of four victims at the family home in Spring Hill, Florida, and later traveled with his brother to California, where he raped and strangled a Watsonville woman. Construction complex on Spring Hill Dr., just west of U.S. 41, in Spring Hill, Hernando County, FL. BROOKSVILLE, FL. Fillingim was 17 years old at the time. He is imprisoned for life at the California Health Care Facility in Stockton. This property is partially within the AE Zone (within floodplain). [46] The new trial was scheduled for February 8, 1982, with Billy's brother Gary and a woman known as "Cindy" agreeing to testify against him. According to reports, his father, William Mansfield Sr. served 10 years in prison for committing lewd acts against young girls. The Hernando County Sheriff's Office announced it identified one of two sets of unidentified remains left in the Mansfield serial killer investigation from 1981 . William Mansfield, Jr. (born 1956) is an American serial killer, child molester and sex offender, responsible for the murders of five women and girls between 1975 and 1980. Ships to you. According to deputies, on Monday just before 5 p.m., a woman called 911 from 11071 Heathrow Avenue in Spring Hill and requested deputies respond to the residence regarding a family member with a gun. Thats when the case broke wide open, sources say, with Gary sharing the secrets of the past with deputies. Mansfield Jr. was arrested on a first-degree murder charge days later. Billy Mansfield Jr., was charged with murdering at least five women between 1975 and 1980. Investigators also worked alongside renowned expert Erin Kimmerle and her colleagues in the forensic anthropology department at the University of South Florida. She said she then kept in close contact with a cold case detective from the Hernando County Sheriffs Office. Billy Mansfield has been convicted for the murders of five females -- one in California and four in Florida. [5] Several people claimed that they had seen a girl matching her description riding a motorbike, and when asked where she was going, the girl claimed to be returning to her home state of Ohio. You never know whats going to happen in your life thats going to turn up something that youve been looking for forever, she said. 1998 - 2023 Nexstar Media Inc. | All Rights Reserved. See our full disclamer. 2023 Cox Media Group. Her neck and right wrist were bound with black wire, the Tampa Bay Times reported at the time. There he shared a cell with 27-year-old Albert Lee III, who confided to Mansfield that he had murdered an 11-year-old girl named Linda VanderVeen. At the time of his murder Richard March was on-duty as a security guard for the complex. His son, Gary Mansfield, is currently being held in the Hernando County jail on $42,500 bail on several drug possession and distribution charges. Hernando County; T 23S, R 17E, S 15; Data available: Property Sales Flooding. The first bones discovered behind the familys mobile home on March 17, 1981, turned out to be the remains of one of the women still unidentified. After 11 hours of searching, a tired and disheveled Mansfield was arrested without incident at Paradise Park, hiding in some bushes and still wearing his prison uniform. And then it seemed like everything was OK until yesterday," Pat Gallagher, who has lived in the area for about 15 years, told Fox13. On November 23, he was arrested in Santa Cruz, but posted bail and was set free again. Dog steps benefit all kinds of dogs, from toy breeds to dogs that shouldnt do a lot of jumping. (NamUs). Court documents said the women all were sexually assaulted by both Mansfield Jr., his younger brother Gary, and their father, William Mansfield Sr. Turns out, the home where the remains were found is no stranger to law enforcement. The human remains now have Hernando detectives asking questions and frantically searching for answers. "I just can't see someone gonna stop at one. Her body would eventually be the fourth dug up from around the Mansfield familys mobile home, UPI reported. SPRING HILL, Fla. (WFLA) - A grisly discovery was made in Hernando County on Tuesday, one that could change the course of a decades-old serial killer case. Two of the bodies were identified asElaine Ziegler, a 15-year-old girl from Ohio, and Sandra Jean Graham, a Tampa woman who went missing on April 17, 1980. William is related to Susan Lyn Mansfield and Theresa A Mansfield as well as 3 additional people. We make no guarantees on the validity of the data presented. This year, though, researchers told the Sheriffs Office they wanted to try again this time using Parabons new Snapshot DNA Phenotyping services to create their own profile of the woman who was killed instead of simply looking for her match. Mansfield, now 80, was released early for good behavior. After several hours, they announced they had found human remains. It's Not the Role of Government to Protect Us From Apps, Don't Put Tiktok Out of Business Based on Hypotheticals, Biden Admin Uses Trump's Own Words to Blast McCarthy's Wall St. Obsessed with true crime. $35. [43], While in the Santa Cruz County jail, a Hernando County judge indicted Mansfield for the murder of one of the four victims found buried underneath his property. . Learn about careers at Cox Media Group. She was on vacation with her mother Betty and step-father Blaine Chalker,[4] and was last seen going to the camp showers. I guess we'll all find out together," Gallagher said. At the time of his arrest, his father, William Mansfield Sr, was serving time in prison for sex crimes against children. Key findings. While California police were investigating Salings murder, Hernando County authorities said they discovered four bodies at Mansfields family home in Spring Hill, each in different stages of decomposition. The base flood elevation for this flood zone is 16.6 feet. The charges were dropped against Gary Mansfield after he agreed to cooperate with authorities. A news crew from the station shot footage of forensics vehicles and excavation equipment that was apparently being used to dig up areas of the familys property. The Hernando killer murdered four Florida women and a California woman he met during a trip with his brother. If you have any information about these cases, you are urged to contact Det. [11] James Winkles would later be convicted of the Graham homicide, and remains a suspect in the Clements murder. 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Authorities identified the victims as Elaine Ziegler, a 15-year-old girl from Warren, Ohio who went missing from a KOA campground near Brooksville while on vacation with her stepfamily, and 21-year-old Sandra Jean Graham, a Tampa native and employee of the Hillsborough Community College who was last seen leaving a bar on April 27, 1980. stove. Neither woman has been identified by police. Forensic experts searched the Mansfield home again in October 2020 after Gary Mansfield was arrested for drug possession. 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What exactly took place on the secluded property? These steps are often compact, practical and easy to move. His other known victims were. These listings are address-matched and not guaranteed to be correctly linked to a property. "When we first moved here, we first heard the stories, it was unsettling. According to NamUs, that victim was found buried with denim pants, a cream-colored bra and a red polyester blouse with an elastic band around the waist. Investigators said they found four bodies buried at the family's home in Spring Hill. 35. And, if so, who are they? "Maybe they're finding it now. Prosecutors were originally pursing the death penalty in Florida, and thats what made Billy Mansfield confess, plead guilty and head to prison until he dies. He was arrested a few days later in Nevada, along with his brother, Gary, who was charged with being an accessory to murder by helpingBilly flee. 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