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Horseman's Slaying Rattles Odessa Gated Community

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By JOSH POLTILOVE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 16, 2008

Updated: 10/16/2008 03:43 pm

Linda Martin didn't know neighbor Lawrence Higgins well, but she liked him.

"He was a great guy, a very nice man," she said today. "He'd give you the shirt off his back."

Higgins, 61, of Odessa, was found dead in his Odessa home on Friday morning by a business associate, Hillsborough County investigators said.

Deputies have remained largely silent about the circumstances of the prominent horseman's death since his body was found, and they have not released details of their investigation. They say the slaying doesn't appear to be the result of a robbery.

"The investigation is active and ongoing," sheriff's spokesman J.D. Callaway said today.

The lack of an arrest makes things worrisome in Higgins' neighborhood, Martin said. The Hillsborough County Medical Examiner's Office concluded the death was a homicide, with "trauma to the upper torso," after Higgins was found in his home at 11523 Trotting Down Drive.

"It's a little nerve-racking," Martin said of life in the neighborhood since Higgins' death. "I think it will be until they find out who did it. I think everybody will be on the lookout, and this will be a wakeup call for everybody to keep an eye on each other and be aware of what's going on."

There was no evidence of a break-in at Higgins' home, deputies say.

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.

Tampa Bay Downs spokeswoman Margo Flynn said Higgins was well-known and well-liked.

"He was well-respected among fellow horsemen and enjoyed coming to the races, and had great camaraderie with the fans, the horsemen and the jockeys," she said.

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.

His family could not be reached today.

Stay with TBO.com for developments.

Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at jpoltilove@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7691.

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