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Rise Of Local Homicides In '07 Perplexes Officials

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By MIKE WELLS, The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 4, 2008

Editor's note: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the sequence of the discovery of the bodies of Jennifer Davis, 27, and her partner, Andrea Pisanello, 53, and Davis' two children.

By knife, by bullet and by hand, homicide in the Tampa Bay region last year continued to rise.

It's a trend for which officials say there is no rhyme or reason.

"Homicide is different than other crimes," Hillsborough County sheriff's Maj. Harold Winsett said. "Some are crimes of passion. Some are a result of robberies that go bad. Some are drug-related, and some are cases of people plotting to kill someone for whatever reason."

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office experienced the largest increase in homicide cases in the region. Deputies investigated 49 cases in 2007 compared with 35 in 2006, Winsett said. Five of the 2006 cases include officer-involved shootings or other "justifiable homicides," he said.

The sheriff's office and police agencies in Hillsborough County investigated a combined 78 homicides last year, according to local officials. In 2006, they investigated 61 cases, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

St. Petersburg police launched 26 homicide investigations last year, which was five more than in 2006, Sgt. Mike Kovacsev said. Eleven remain unsolved.

"I don't think there is really a clear trend," Kovacsev said. "Twenty-five is the historical average."

Clearwater police investigated 10 homicides in 2007, double their 2006 cases, spokeswoman Elizabeth Daly-Watts said.

"Homicides are unpredictable," she said. "They are spur-of-the-moment crimes."

That statement is validated by considering the events of Dec. 14, when Largo police found the bodies of Jennifer Davis, 27, and her partner, Andrea Pisanello, 53, shortly before authorities found Davis' children, Olivia Bernsdorff, 4, and Magnus Bernsdorff, 2, in their father's Clearwater home.

Authorities say Davis' ex-husband, Oliver Bernsdorff, 36, killed the two women and the children before fatally shooting himself as he crossed the Sunshine Skyway bridge.

While the murder rate in Hillsborough County is up, Winsett said last year's crime reports are expected to show the county's overall violent crime rate - which includes reports of robbery, rape, assault, larceny, burglary and automobile theft - has fallen a bit from previous years.

Pasco County sheriff's detectives' caseload dropped from 28 homicide cases in 2006, which included two double homicides, to 18 cases last year, Pasco sheriff's spokesman Doug Tobin said.

"One case was a 2006 incident where the victim died in 2007, so it is one of our 18 homicide cases," Tobin said.

Dozens Remain Unsolved

While most of last year's slayings resulted in arrests and charges, dozens are unsolved because of a lack of witnesses or evidence, Winsett said.

Hillsborough detectives still are investigating 14 unsolved homicides from 2007, Winsett said.

These include the slaying of Barbara Mongee, a 37-year-old mother who disappeared 14 years ago. Her bones were found in September about a mile from her Seffner home, making it a 2007 case.

Deputies also are trying to learn who killed a migrant worker found Feb. 8 next to an orange grove in Wimauma. Armando Cruz-Hernandez, 29, was from Seattle, Winsett said.

His body wasn't found until days after he was shot in the chest and investigators haven't found anyone here who knew him, the major said.

"Basically, a body dumped on the side of the road," Winsett said. "That's who he is."

They Need Your Help

St. Petersburg detectives need the public's help, too, Kovacsev said. Detectives are looking for witnesses in the deaths of Amuel Murph, who was shot when he came across car thieves outside his home, and Charles Cummings, a homeless man found beaten to death under Interstate 175.

Two Clearwater police cases remain unsolved, Daly-Watts said. Leon Dash, 48, died in a brawl outside a bar, and Cory Brown, 33, was killed at 710 Maple St.

Other cases remain open while authorities search for fugitive suspects charged with murder.

Hillsborough detectives are hunting for Tyrone Lamont Grimes, Winsett said. A $6,000 reward was offered for information leading to the arrest of Grimes, 27, who is suspected in the Oct. 17 shooting death of Karen L. Taylor-Williams, 36.

The owners of Club Fluid in Brandon are offering $5,000, and Crime Stoppers of Tampa Bay is offering $1,000.

Investigators say Grimes was at Club Fluid, 2016 Brandon Town Center Drive, and was arguing with another patron when he fired several rounds from a handgun. One bullet struck and killed Taylor-Williams.

"She just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time," Winsett said. "We don't believe the bullet was intended for her."

Grimes is described as a black man, 6-feet-1-inch tall, 250 pounds, black hair, brown eyes, with tattoos of a marijuana plant on his right arm, praying hands on his left arm and teardrops on his face.

According to the sheriff's office, murder warrants also have been issued for Rick Elise Joseph, 21, suspected in the May 3 shooting death of Marcus Johnson, 16; for Jose Rubio Mayo, 30, suspected in the fatal July 1 shooting of Juan Contreras, 36; and for Victor Carlos Martinez, 18, charged in the Dec. 26 shooting death of Pascual Garcia Lopez, 27.

Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's office at (813) 247-8200 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-8477. Report a tip at www.crime stopperstb.com or send an anonymous text message to 25735, with TIP155 in the first line.

Reporters Billy Townsend, Valerie Kalfrin, Stephen Thompson, Lisa Davis and Jo-Ann Johnston contributed to this report. Reporter Mike Wells can be reached at (813) 259-7839 or mwells@tampatrib.com.

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