A Florida man who is being described as “pure evil in the flesh” is behind bars for the alleged triple murder of three friends who were out on a fishing trip.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd announced Wednesday that Tony “TJ” Wiggins, 26, has been arrested and charged with the weekend murders of Damion Tillman, 23, Keven Springfield, 30, and 27-year-old Brandon Rollins. Wiggins’s girlfriend, Mary Whittemore, 27, and his brother, 21-year-old Robert Wiggins, were also arrested for being accessories in the alleged slaying.
Judd expressed shock at just how expansive Wiggins’s arrest record is during a news conference, noting that Wiggins has been on the wrong end of the law since he was 12 years old.
“I didn’t stutter. He has 230 charges in his arrest history. Fifteen convictions and two times to state prison at only 26,” Judd said. “He’s a thug. He’s a criminal. He’s pure evil in the flesh. He’s wild, and he’s out of control.”
The murders happened Friday night in Frostproof, a small Florida city of about 3,000 located in the central part of the state south of Orlando. Investigators said a bag from a nearby Dollar General found in the victims’ truck led them to the store’s surveillance footage. Authorities believe that Wiggins overheard that Tillman was going fishing and that Springfield would be present.
According to Judd, Wiggins told his brother Robert to drive his truck to the lake where Tillman, Springfield, and Rollins would be fishing. When the crew arrived, TJ Wiggins began beating up Springfield and accusing him of stealing his truck and selling its engine. Robert Wiggins reportedly confessed to police that his brother then shot all three of the fishermen.
The trio allegedly took a trip to McDonald’s after the heinous murders, where they ordered two McChicken sandwiches and 10 double cheeseburgers. According to police, neither Wiggins nor Whittemore have been cooperating with the investigation.
“Our goal, and we pray our state attorney can seek the death penalty,” Judd said of Wiggins. “He needs to seek a fair trial … and then be executed. Legally, we can’t execute him the way he did those three guys trying to fish on a Friday night.”
Wiggins is facing three first-degree murder charges. In addition to the accessory to murder charges, Robert Wiggins and Whittemore are also each facing one count of tampering with evidence. The sheriff said more charges could be forthcoming as his deputies continue their investigation.
