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Friends Mourn Slain Odessa Horseman As Probe Continues

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By JOSH POLTILOVE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 17, 2008

TAMPA - More than two months after horseman Lawrence Higgins was slain, the investigation continues and his friends from the racetrack continue to mourn.

Higgins' friends and family held a memorial service for him Saturday morning at Tampa Bay Downs, a racetrack he frequented. Today, at the second day of live racing at the track's new season, Higgins' former horse trainer remembered Higgins fondly.

"He was a wonderful person," Joe Waunsch said. "I assume he was fairly rich, [but he] treated everybody alike."

Higgins, 61, died during the daytime hours of Oct. 8. He was a racehorse aficionado who told Bloodhorse.com that he bet more than $1 million a year on the sport at Tampa Bay Downs.

About 40 friends and family members attended the memorial service. A blimp from a company Higgins owns flew overhead, Waunsch said.

Investigators have declined to say how Higgins died other than that there was "trauma to the upper torso." A business associate found Higgins dead at his Odessa home on Oct. 10, and the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office said there was no evidence of a robbery or break-in.

Higgins was a businessman associated with tracks across the country. He owned Icarus Aircraft Inc., a company that used blimps as airborne billboards, as well as several horses. Public records show his 3,575-square-foot home and acreage have a market value of about $740,000.

Last month, Hillsborough County sheriff's detectives asked for the public's help in finding a pickup and an older-model sedan seen near Higgins' home at 11523 Trotting Down Drive. Investigators said the vehicles were a champagne-colored pickup with dual wheels on the rear, tinted windows and an extended cab; and an orange, older-model (possibly early 1980s) Nissan or Datsun sedan with a loud muffler.

The investigation has stretched across the nation because of the many people Higgins knew, Maj. Harold Winsett said.

"They're still chasing leads, working leads that they've got on it," Winsett said of the case. "They're still continuing to do some interviews and follow-up."

Crime Stoppers announced Nov. 7 that there is a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest. Tipsters can call 1-800-873-TIPS (8477) or the sheriff's office at (813) 247-8000. Nobody has called any tips to Crime Stoppers about Higgins, said Hillsborough Sheriff's Det. Lisa Haber, a Crime Stoppers coordinator.

Waunsch, 71, said he can't fathom why anyone would want to kill his friend.

"I haven't got a clue. Honest to goodness," he said. "Everybody says it's a mystery. It's a shocker."

Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at (813) 259-7691.

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