LAKE COUNTY, FLA. — John Taylor, a 91-year-old veteran, let a homeless couple stay on his property rent free last year. Then, he was beaten to death and his car stolen. A jury Thursday did not let that stand.
Bryan “Ducky” Hamill, 46, was convicted of first-degree murder and grand theft auto after a tenant found Taylor bloodied and nonresponsive in his bedroom on Feb. 23 of last year.
The tenant, who was also Taylor’s caregiver, thought it was strange that his landlord’s car was missing and his dog was outside. That’s when he made the gruesome discovery, according to Tom Wiezorek, the assistant state attorney who prosecuted the case.
Lake sheriff’s deputies began searching for Hamill and his girlfriend, Brandi Dale. 38. They spotted Dale driving the car near Groveland and arrested them. She was charged with driving without a license and the couple charged with grand theft auto. Both would later be charged with murder.
Investigators may have discovered a motive when they learned that there was an apparent limit to Taylor’s patience.
Investigators quoted a tenant saying that Taylor “spoke with him about having Mr. Hamill and his wife removed from the property or having them pay rent to stay.”
Hamill admitted taking the vehicle. She did not. But that was the only thing he admitted to investigators. However, he blabbed about where he hid the murder weapon to a cellmate at the jail. He stashed it under Taylor’s manufactured home, the man testified.
When the lab results came back, it showed Hamill’s DNA on the handle and Taylor’s blood on the barrel of the bat.
Results were inconclusive for Dale. No date has been set for her trial.
Prosecutors are not seeking the death penalty. The mandatory sentence for first-degree murder is life without parole. Circuit Judge Heidi Davis has not yet sentenced Hamill.