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Polk Slay Suspect Intentionally Drowned Himself: Grady Judd

News Channel 8 photo by RUGENE MOORE

Polk County deputies spent hours searching for a homicide suspect who dove into a lake near Interstate 4.

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By JOSH POLTILOVE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: February 4, 2009

Updated: 02/04/2009 09:02 pm

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John Palmer

Deputy Barry Hill

Jon Green

John Palmer ran through the thick brush at the edge of Interstate 4 in Polk County a few hours before dawn Wednesday and into the cold waters of Lake Agnes.

He was trying to end a chaotic night that began after he fatally shot a man in Polk City, led investigators on a high-speed chase and crashed into a patrol car at speeds at more than 90 mph, deputies say.

Now, he was making his way to the middle of the lake, wading in nearly four feet of 52-degree water.
He didn't respond when deputies tried pulling him to safety with branches. Minutes later, Palmer disappeared. It would take about three hours to find his body.

"It's rather evident to me that to drown in four feet of water, it would have to be an intentional act," Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.

The incident began about 9:40 p.m. Tuesday at 9598 County Road 557-A, just east of Polk City. Deputies went there to check on homeowner Jon Green, 70, after two people called and said they were concerned about his safety.

The callers, Terry Waters and Tammy Johnson, had made an agreement with Green on Tuesday afternoon to clean his yard and move in with him. They returned to the house about 9 p.m. expecting to spend the night, Judd said.

A woman, later identified by investigators as 20-year-old Christine Northrup, answered the knock at the front door but did not open it, Judd said. Northrup told Waters and Johnson that Green was at a bar in Polk City and to come back later.

Unsatisfied, Waters and Johnson called 911.

When deputies arrived at the house, they found Green's body wrapped in blankets. He had been shot at least twice in the chest and had defensive wounds on his hands, Judd said.

Sometime Tuesday night, Palmer called his mother's friends and said, "I took your gun, and I killed Jon Green. I got rid of the gun, and I'm going to kill myself," Judd said.

As detectives investigated the scene of the slaying, deputies were on the lookout for Palmer and Northrup. They were spotted about 2:15 a.m. near Haines City, still driving Green's truck. Deputies followed it on westbound I-4, sheriff's spokeswoman Carrie Eleazer said. Deputies tried to get the truck to pull over, but it fled at speeds of up to 100 mph.

The pursuit lasted several miles.

Deputy Richard "Barry" Hill sat in a parked patrol unit on the interstate's north shoulder, off the side of the on-ramp at State Road 559 in Polk City, as the pursuit came his way about 6 a.m. He planned to deploy stop sticks on the truck.

Instead, the truck struck a guardrail and careened toward Hill's cruiser. It struck the cruiser going about 80 to 90 mph.

The vehicles were propelled into the thick brush and trees on the south side of Lake Agnes, just off of I-4, the sheriff's office said.

Palmer, the pickup's driver, fled into the heavy brush and trees in a wooded area near the Fantasy of Flight attraction.

Hill, 46, of Lakeland was taken to Lakeland Regional Medical Center and has at least six broken ribs, cuts, bumps and a bruise to the interior wall of his abdomen, Judd said. He needed 14 stitches to the back of his head.

Northrup, a Polk County resident, has a broken ankle and other minor injuries. She was taken into custody but was not charged Wednesday night.

A Polk sheriff's helicopter spotted Palmer swimming in Lake Agnes, Eleazer said. Palmer refused to show his hands or comply with deputies' commands to come out of the water, she said. He waded deeper into the lake and swam toward its center. Palmer then went underwater and didn't emerge.

The sheriff's office's marine unit and dive team went into the lake, trying to find him. His body was found about 7:45 a.m. A preliminary autopsy says he drowned.

Details of the relationship between Palmer and Green were unclear, but the men knew each other and Green had let Palmer into his house, Judd said. The sheriff said investigators might never get all the answers, but he said Green has been known for helping those who are down and out.

A year ago, a SWAT team came to Green's house after Palmer's brother, Jody Lynn Palmer, hid in the home from deputies. Green was upset deputies were after Palmer's relative, and Judd said Green was "no friend to law enforcement."

"Quite frankly, Jon Green did not deserve to die with a cold blooded, vicious murderer attacking him, but that's exactly what happened," Judd said.

Palmer has previous convictions for burglary and criminal mischief. He also was charged with attempted first-degree murder in June 1992 but he later was convicted of misdemeanor battery of a spouse instead, state attorney's spokesman Chip Thullbery said.

Researcher Stephanie Pincus and News Channel 8 reporter Jennifer Leigh contributed to this report.

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