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Robbery Unlikely Motive In Horseman's Slaying, Deputies Say
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Published: October 13, 2008
Updated: 10/13/2008 01:39 pm
The slaying of prominent Odessa horseman Lawrence P. Higgins doesn't appear to be the result of a robbery, deputies said today.
Investigators have remained largely silent about the circumstances of Higgins' death since his body was found Friday. Higgins, 61, was found dead in his house at 11523 Trotting Down Drive on Friday morning by a business associate, Hillsborough County investigators said.
"We found things at the scene, and had robbery been the motive, they would have been taken," Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Debbie Carter said.
The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office concluded the death was a homicide, with "trauma to the upper torso," according to the sheriff's office. The office declined to be more specific.
There was no evidence of a break-in at Higgins' home. Carter said the business associate walked into Higgins' home Friday and found the body.
His family was home this afternoon.
Investigators returned to the home today. They planned to process the scene and talk with family members and/or business associates, Carter said.
Records show that Higgins owned a few businesses, including Icarus Aircraft Inc., an advertising agency that used blimps to carry airborne messages. He also was a racehorse aficionado who told Bloodhorse.com that he bet more than $1 million a year on the sport at Tampa Bay Downs.
He also owned several horses. Among his thoroughbreds was Bodgiteer, which raced at Suffolk Downs in Boston and was named New England Horse of the Year at that track in 2007, according to ThoroughbredTimes.com.
Public records show that Higgins lived in a 3,575-square-foot home that was built in 2004 in the gated community of Citrus Green II.
Court records show that he and his wife, Susan, officially divorced in June. She received more than $917,000. He kept nearly $4.9 million, including their $700,000 Odessa home and $3.9 million in retirement plans. He assumed their $441,000 mortgage.
Calls made to the home telephone were unanswered today.
Tampa Bay Downs General Manager Pete Berube has known Higgins for about 13 years and said the racing community is in shock over the news of his death.
"He was a horseman," Berube said Saturday afternoon.
Higgins came to Florida from Maryland, where he was a lawyer and shuttled between the two states until about 2000, when he sold his home there and moved to Odessa, Berube said.
"I saw Larry on Wednesday," Berube said. "That makes this more disturbing."
He said Higgins was his usual pleasant self when the two chatted. He came to Tampa Bay Downs three or four times a week, often to watch his horses race at tracks elsewhere in the country on the simulcast monitors.
"Last year he had 10 horses," Berube said. "I think he had scaled back some recently."
Higgins was successful as a racehorse owner, Berube said: "He knew what he was doing."
Higgins' knowledge earned him the post of executive vice president of the Tampa Bay Downs Horsemen's Benevolent and Protective Association, which represents the interests of owners, trainers and workers, President Robert Jeffries said.
Higgins, Jeffries said, represented owners and trainers in contract negotiations. He also helped jockeys, grooms, hot walkers and other track workers.
"We all know him," Jeffries said. "He spent a lot of time on the backside. He was always around every day with his horses. He sure enjoyed watching them."
Not only was Higgins interested in horses, he also was interested in, and generous toward, those who work with them, said Sharyn Wasiluk, president of the Race Track Chaplaincy of America, Tampa Bay Downs Division. Every year, she said, Higgins would donate rides in his blimp and items to an auction that helps raise money for clothing, English classes and counseling for track workers.
Saturday, the local racing community was trying to deal with the untimely death of one of its own.
"We got the call yesterday," Berube said. "We just couldn't believe it. Everybody really liked Larry. He was intelligent, even-keeled, a really great guy."
Reporter Tom Brennan contributed to this report. Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at jpoltilove@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7691.
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