FL - Damion Tillman, Keven Springfield, & Brandon Rollins, massacred, Frostproof, 17 July 2020

[dotr]

Motive Remains Mystery in Florida Fishing Trip 'Massacre' of 3 Friends, $30,000 Reward Offered

Brandon Rollins, Keven Springfield and Damion Tillman
Brandon Rollins Facebook; Damion Tillman Facebook

''Our detectives have literally been working 24/7 since the moment we received the first 911 call in order to solve this horrific case,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said at a press conference Monday.
“This does not look like a drug deal gone bad,” he said. “We don’t know the reason at this stage in the investigation.”

''Describing the triple killings as a "massacre" at a press conference Saturday morning, Judd said, "This is a horrific scene. I've been to a lot of murder scenes in my life, and this ranks up with the worst of them. They were viciously murdered.”

 

[TateF]

Question for those who aren't directionally challenged: which truck was pointed towards the lake?

IIRC, DT's truck was facing south and BR/KS's vehicle was pointing north.

Does this indicate that DT appeared to be heading away from the lake?

It depends from which road they entered from.

As you exit Hwy 27 onto Lake Streety Rd towards the lake, the road first points SW, then directly West for a small stretch, then NW along the lake itself, until finally beyond the lake the road turns due North for a long stretch until it hits Otto Polk Rd.

Looking at the satellite map, it’s seems to me they were somewhere along the lake itself, meaning NW would be entering the scene and SE would be leaving - headed back out to Hwy 27.
(Closer to Hwy 27 the road is surrounding by groves on either side, which I don’t see in the police pics).

But then again, if they entered onto Lake Streety Rd from Otto Polk Rd (and not Hwy 27) then South would be approaching the scene, and North would be exiting.
Given the distances to the lake, it seems more likely they entered from Hwy 27.

...I hope all that made sense. To someone. Maybe some eagle-eye out there can pinpoint exactly where on the road they were. But regardless, my money is on DT facing out and BR/KS facing in.

EDIT: After taking another look, it’s almost certain the position of the trucks (the crime scene) is along the lake itself.
No other part of the road matches the photos - although I cannot find the traffic sign that I clearly see in the pics. Maybe it’s new...
But they were RIGHT ON the lake, so DT could’ve been parked and had started fishing when trouble started for all we know. ...my 2 cents

 

[ajaylee]

Thank you! Things are more complicated than I thought. Your post explains why BR/KS didn't block in the assailants when they arrived.

 

[oviedo]

Brandon's Obituary:
Obituary for Brandon C Rollins at Marion Nelson Funeral Home Inc.

Kevin's Obituary:
Obituary for Keven M. Springfield at Marion Nelson Funeral Home Inc.

Their occupations don't seem to be anything inviting criminal activity IMO - so what was the motive?? and for the Sheriff to describe the scene as he has - makes me think these boys were beat with baseball bats or something and then shot?
JMO

 

[Sulamith]

I wonder if law enforcement found three sets of fishing tackle at the scene.

 

[worm]

I wonder if law enforcement found three sets of fishing tackle at the scene.

They weren’t actually fishing when this occurred. The lake was a short walk away from the way it looks.

 

[Sulamith]

They weren’t actually fishing when this occurred. The lake was a short walk away from the way it looks.

Yes, I realized that but I included the trucks as a part of the scene.

 

[Fbjones]

Do we know if they were just arriving or on their way out? <modsnip>

 

[Fbjones]

The sheriff said the phone was hard to find. If the son used it to call him, why was his phone not right there? Or maybe they were still there when he called his dad and threw the phone. Just seems odd

 

[TateF]

Quick question about this website:
How does one know what is approved material to link and what isn’t?
It appears my last post was deleted because of the publication I linked to. How was I to know?

 

[worm]

Quick question about this website:
How does one know what is approved material to link and what isn’t?
It appears my last post was deleted because of the publication I linked to. How was I to know?

My reply got zapped too. I don’t know what the problem is with that source, I found it on a web search last night.

 

[AllElseFailed]

The sheriff said the phone was hard to find. If the son used it to call him, why was his phone not right there? Or maybe they were still there when he called his dad and threw the phone. Just seems odd

He was shot and dying...he could have dropped it? Even between the seats maybe? JMO.

 

[Dontknow?]

Wow, if I'm reading Keven's obituary correctly, it says he was survived by his wife and 8 children. How sad. 8.

Obituary for Keven M. Springfield at Marion Nelson Funeral Home Inc.

 

[PayrollNerd]

FYI

Rules - Social Media - Facebook, Twitter, etc.

The Rules

 

[SuziQ]

what's a stringer video?

Breaking news videos taken by videographers who then sell the footage to news stations. Very interesting, competitive, and dangerous occupation. Their goal is to make it to a scene before the police do. One account I follow on You Tube is called Loudlabs.

 

[watergirl62]

.....

Didn't see your post. There are some rules. Read the victim friendly section, I am guessing that may be why your post was deleted. Welcome to Websleuths...

Rules - Etiquette & Information

 

[whitelilac]

regarding the poll "did they know their attackers ?"
It's possible that one victim, namely Tillman, recognized or knew the attackers, and the other two didn't.
It's also possible that these attackers were not recognizable, as in masked or hooded, or it was too dark and fast.
Then again, everyone knows everyone in that small environment.
And it's also possible the attackers wanted Tillman to know what they were about to do with him and why <modsnip>

Just thinking aloud.

Just hope this will be solved sooner than later.

 

[Talullah]

Frostproof mourns victims of gruesome triple homicide

 

[Steph8angels]

Motive Remains Mystery in Florida Fishing Trip 'Massacre' of 3 Friends, $30,000 Reward Offered

Authorities speculate that the killers followed one of the men down a desolate road, and murdered the other two because they were witnesses

Authorities are working around the clock to hunt down the killers who massacred three best friends on a Florida fishing trip – and figure out why.

On Friday night, Damion Tillman, 23, Keven Springfield, 30, and Brandon Rollins, 27, were fatally beaten and shot on a night fishing trip at Lake Streety in Frostproof, about 75 miles south of Orlando.

Since the bodies were found, authorities launched a massive manhunt for the killer (or killers).

Investigators believe Tillman was the first of the longtime friends to arrive at the lake.

When Rollins and Springfield got there, he said they saw Tillman being beaten -- and were then shot by the attackers.

He speculated that perhaps it was "something as simple" as an incident of road rage if the friends, who were driving two separate vehicles, had somehow blocked the road and angered another driver.

More @link
WS/TOS

Memorial's have been placed at the crime scene. For all 3 young best friends who were ambushed and murdered. I still have no leads on motive.

 

[Al Hoffman]

what's a stringer video?

In journalism, a stringer is a freelance journalist, photographer, or videographer who contributes reports, photos, or videos to a news organization on an ongoing basis but is paid individually for each piece of published or broadcast work.