TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Son Is Charged In Deaths Of Parents

ADVERTISEMENT

By DAVID SOMMER, The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 22, 2008

NEW PORT RICHEY - The son of a Shady Hills couple found shot dead in their home Feb. 11 has been charged with two counts of premeditated murder, records show.

Jackie Lee Braden was in custody in Pinellas County on drug trafficking charges and had been named as a person of interest in the slaying of his mother and stepfather. He was charged in the killings based on a bench warrant issued Thursday, Pasco County Sheriff's Office spokesman Doug Tobin said.

David Ray Wright was shot once in the back of his head while sitting in a recliner at his home at 18101 Moorhaven Drive. His wife, Sherrill, who suffered three bullet wounds to her face and body, was dressed in pajamas and was lying on her bedroom floor, according to a search warrant unsealed Thursday.

The warrant, obtained to search David Wright's Toyota Tundra, also states that a .357-Magnum handgun containing six spent shell casings was found in an Indian Rocks Beach motel room. Braden and another man were arrested there Feb. 11 on marijuana trafficking charges after a search of the room turned up 43 pounds of the drug and $194,060 in cash, according to authorities.

Braden, 36, who is said to have lived part time at his parents' Shady Hills home, also was charged with possession of crack cocaine.

During that arrest, David Wright's wallet was found in Braden's pocket and Wright's pickup was located in the parking lot of the Indian Rocks Beach Holiday Inn, the search warrant affidavit states.

Braden told detectives that his stepfather let him use the truck when he left the Shady Hills home on the evening of Feb. 8. Relatives Woodrow White and John Cummings, however, told detectives that Braden was forbidden from using Wright's vehicle at any time, the affidavit states.

Tobin said he did not know what exact evidence led to the double murder charges being filed. He said that once Braden was jailed in Pinellas County on drug charges with bail of more than $100,000, Pasco detectives felt no rush to build their murder case.

"The only thing the detective told me was they had a lot of forensic evidence, physical evidence to make a good solid case," the spokesman said.

Tobin said he had seen neither the search warrant nor the arrest warrant and could not comment on their contents.

In the search warrant, Pasco sheriff's Detective Lisa Schoneman states that Braden's whereabouts were discovered through her investigation. Backed up by Pinellas deputies, Schoneman wrote, she went to the Indian Rocks Beach Holiday Inn where they found Braden and a woman named Christina Cheli in a room rented by Christopher Catalano.

Catalano, 36, of Tarpon Springs, agreed to the search that turned up the gun, marijuana and money; he, too, was charged with marijuana trafficking, according to the warrant and Pinellas County Jail records.

Cheli, 24, of St. Petersburg, was charged with failure to appear in court on an unrelated misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a child, jail records state.

A search of Wright's truck turned up power and hand tools, a cell phone, a metal ammunition box, a briefcase containing paperwork and two blood smears on the driver's seat.

The 2005 silver, extended cab pickup also contained a Milwaukee brand Sawzall tool and metal dust similar in appearance to that found at the slaying scene, according to the warrant. It goes on to state that a 6-foot-tall metal safe was found near Sherrill Wright's body. The safe had been pried open and "it also appeared to have been sawed through the top with some type of metal saw."

Reporter David Sommer can be reached at (727) 815-1087 or dsommer@tampatrib.com.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT