Suspect in Mascotte woman's killing appears before judge

LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — A judged denied bond Thursday to a man accused of killing his former girlfriend in front of their daughter.

Johnny Shipman was arrested in Ocala Wednesday afternoon after several days on the run.

Ocala police said officers arrested Shipman when he was spotted walking near State Road 27 and Interstate 75.

Before heading to jail, Shipman was taken to the West Marion Community Hospital because he had a cut on his hand that was not related to the arrest, police said.

Shipman was denied bond and told the judge he will get a private lawyer.

Delaney's family and friends are happy he's finally been caught.

On Tuesday, authorities issued a warrant for Shipman in the death of Kristi Lynne Delaney.

Delaney was found dead inside her Bay Lake Avenue home on Monday after her and Shipman's 3-year-old daughter walked more than a mile to her grandmother's house.

"I was amazed that the little girl was walking by herself," said neighbor Erika Conde.

Neighbors spotted the little girl walking and went after her to make sure she was OK.

"We've seen her with the parents before, but never alone," said neighbor Martha Lupian.

The good Samaritans went with the child to her grandmother's house and told her the little girl was walking around by herself.

"Her baby walked over here and just started talking to us, saying, 'Mommy is on the floor. Mommy's dead.' Just like that," said family member Phillip Bonelli.

Investigators said the grandmother called police and then later went to her daughter's home and discovered her body.

Investigators said Delaney was slain and they believe her daughter witnessed the killing.

"We heard this loud, piercing scream. I was like, 'Oh, my gosh. I have to hang up the phone and find out where that's coming from,'" said neighbor Brittany Evans.

Delaney's family believes she was beaten to death, but police have not said how the woman died.

Neighbors said there had been problems before between the victim and her boyfriend at the home.

"They used to fight a lot," said Lupian.

Investigators believe Monday's attack was also domestic-related.

Channel 9 learned Shipman and Delaney both filed injunctions against each other last year because of domestic violence.

In one of the injunctions, Delaney said she was worried something like this would happen, according to Channel 9's Tim Barber.

Friends say they feared the suspect would get away, which would prevent them from ever getting closure, but now they say their prayers have been answered.

"She can finally lay to rest, 'cause they caught him," friend Adriana Gaitan said.

Channel 9 found nearly 120 of the 880 victims who filed injunctions last year asked a judge to throw them out, according to the Lake County clerk of courts.

Victim advocate Carol Wick said getting an injunction can actually make the situation more deadly because sometimes leaving can infuriate the aggressor.

Other people drop injunctions because things calm down, but that's when the unspeakable can happen, experts said, and navigating the court system can be overwhelming and terrifying for some.

"I think it can be very confusing, especially if you are not used to the legal system," said Wick.

Victims of domestic violence can seek help at Haven of Lake and Sumter Counties.

WFTV