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Slaying Victim's Stolen Car Found In Ocala; 2 Sought

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By JOSH POLTILOVE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 17, 2008

TAMPA - The stolen car of Henry Todd Bruder, who was found tied up and shot to death Saturday morning at his Lakeland home, was found Sunday afternoon at an Ocala inn.

Polk County sheriff's deputies have obtained arrest warrants for a Lakeland woman and her boyfriend on charges they stole Bruder's 2005 Nissan Altima. Sheriff Grady Judd said those Lakeland residents also are considered suspects in the slaying of Bruder and his stepbrother, Dion Travis White.

"Certainly, they stole one of the dead men's vehicles and fled," Judd said. "We suspect that it's the result of a conflict over drugs, but we're being guarded with info at this time."

When Bruder, 30, failed to show up for work at Advance Auto Parts, a co-worker went to his house and found him dead and his Altima missing. Detectives wanted to talk to White, 42, who lived at the same house. White recently was released from state prison, where he was serving a sentence for violation of probation.

On Sunday morning, White's family discovered his body under bushes near the Lakeland home.

Some of White's family went to the house to see whether anything was missing and to secure his belongings. They called the sheriff's office after noticing items were gone, sheriff's spokeswoman Carrie Rodgers said.

Polk deputies sent an alert seeking help finding the car, and Ocala police searched near Ocala's Interstate 75 exits, police spokeswoman Angy Scroble said.

At 5 p.m. Sunday, Ocala officers found the Altima abandoned at a Quality Inn near an interstate exit and alerted Polk deputies.

According to a sheriff's office statement:

Investigators learned John Eugene Odom, 38, and Susan Marie Wallen, 32, both of Harden Combee Road in Lakeland, had stolen the Altima and ditched it.

Odom and Wallen had checked in to a Motor Inn in Ocala on Saturday and investigators obtained a search warrant to enter the room. But when Ocala police's SWAT team arrived late Sunday, Odom and Wallen weren't there.

Investigators learned that Odom and Wallen had left in a U-Haul they rented Sunday. They are thought to be riding north on I-75 in a 1997 Ford F-350 with Arizona license plate number AA67396.

Wallen's two sons, 13-year-old Josh Smith and 8-year-old Brandon Wallen, are with her "while she flees law enforcement," the statement said.

Judd said he doesn't think the adults pose a threat to the children.

Anyone with information can call the Polk County Sheriff's Office at 1-800-226-0344 or 1-863-533-0344, or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-8477.

Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at jpoltilove@tampatrib.com or

(813) 259-7691.

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