A standoff at a motel in Georgia late Tuesday night (February 7) resulted in the death of William “Billy” Boyette Jr. (44 years of age), and the arrest of Mary Craig Rice (38 years old). Authorities in Escambia County, Florida, had previously advised the public via a press conference on their efforts in searching for the suspected murderers, identified as being on a multi-state killing spree. The third attack in the past seven days attributed to the couple was an attempted murder on February 6, crossing state lines, leaving three women dead, and one critically injured.
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Multi-State Killing Spree Ends: One Suspect Dead, the Other Arrested
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Photo: Facebook/NewsRadio1620
Rice, who had previously only been considered a person of interest in the attacks, was upgraded to an official suspect in the killing and crime spree as authorities believed she had several opportunities to seek help or run and was seen entering stores by herself, without being forced and directed. Boyette was a repeat offender with violent tendencies, previously accused of attacking girlfriends, uttering death threats, and allegedly beating and stabbing his victims. He had a history of drug trafficking and use, with a penchant for “Spice,” on which users have been known to stay awake for days at a time.
Photo: Facebook/Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office
A home invasion and vehicle theft report brought county deputies to a Pensacola address on Monday (February 6) where a mother identified that her daughter hadn’t reported to work and went to the house to check on her. She found her daughter, Kayla Crocker, with a gunshot wound, and Kayla’s two-year-old son thankfully unharmed. Crocker’s vehicle, a white Chevrolet Cobalt, which had been stolen during the home invasion, was confirmed by authorities via video surveillance to be in the possession of Boyette and Rice, who took the car to a Shell gas station just minutes afterward, marking the third attack in their crime/killing spree.
Photo: Facebook/Milton Post
The Florida Panhandle was placed on high alert for the past week, after two bodies were discovered at the Emerald Sands Inn in Milton, Florida on January 31. Thirty-year-old Alicia Greer, one of the identified victims, had been in a relationship with Boyette, however, authorities have identified that all subsequent victims have had no known affiliation to the suspect. Jacqueline Jeanette Moore, age 39, was identified as the second victim in that attack. Following that, the pair allegedly drove to Lillian, Alabama, where they were suspected of killing Peggy Broz, stealing her car, and then returning to the Pensacola area.
Photo: Facebook/Escambia County Sheriff’s Office
Police had identified that the same caliber of weapon had been used in each murder, but did not release further details regarding the weapon. A wooded area near Nine Mile Road in the Pensacola area was previously being searched by deputies after surveillance footage showed the pair in that area on Monday, and dogs were being used in the process. It was reported that Boyette had previously made the statement that he would not be taken alive, and law enforcement officials were taking the statements very seriously. A spokesman for the U.S. Marshals identified that Boyette was dead after the standoff in West Point, Georgia, believed to have died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and that Rice was taken into custody after the pair had been holed up inside the room evading capture.
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