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Police ID Skyway jumper in murder-suicide

Photo from Dan Aberg

A passing motorist took this photo of what soon turned out to be a deadly scene on the Sunshine Skyway.

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By JOSH POLTILOVE | The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 13, 2009

Updated: 10/13/2009 05:52 pm

Related Links

• Skyway suicides database
• Video report
• Photos from the scene

Robert Laird

Sheryl Lynn Laird
(Facebook profile photo)

LAKELAND - Four days before a hearing about the roughly $18,000 he owed his ex-wife in child support, Robert Cecil Laird jumped to his death from the Sunshine Skyway bridge.

Police today are still trying to identify a body found in a burning car on the bridge near where Laird, 38, jumped Monday. Authorities say Laird drove the car onto the bridge.

Police also say that a homicide occurred at the Interlachen Parkway home of his ex-wife, Sheryl Lynn Laird, but have not released additional details.

Sheryl Laird's mother, in tears, said today that she was too upset to talk.

The Lairds' eight-year marriage ended in divorce in October 2006, records show. They have a 7-year-old daughter.

In April 2006, Hillsborough County deputies charged Robert Laird with misdemeanor battery and violating a domestic violence injunction. He was accused of throwing the unidentified contents of his cup in Sheryl Laird's face when she arrived at his Brandon residence to pick up their daughter.

The case was not prosecuted.

Robert Laird had verbally abused his ex-wife and showed up in places where he wasn't wanted, said lawyer Kim Kaszuba, who represented Sheryl Laird.

When the couple divorced, Sheryl Laird wanted to ensure the shared custody exchange of their daughter was done in a public place, Kaszuba said.

Robert Laird was ordered to pay monthly child support of $792.65.

In August, Sheryl Laird filed a motion for civil contempt and sanctions, saying her ex-husband had willfully violated court orders and owed nearly $18,000 in child support.

A hearing is slated for Friday.

Robert Laird's body was retrieved Monday afternoon from Tampa Bay by three people in an 18-foot fishing boat.

As firefighters were extinguishing the car fire, they received several calls of a man who jumped from the bridge. A Florida Highway Patrol trooper also saw the man jump.

A cell phone photograph taken by a motorist shows the vehicle on fire in the breakdown lane and an unidentified man standing nearby.

News Channel 8 reporter Jennifer Leigh contributed to this report. Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at (813) 259-7691.

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