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'I loved that woman,' says 1 of 2 suspects in death of 92-year-old Leesburg woman

LEESBURG, Fla. — Two people were arrested Friday in connection with the death of a 92-year-old Leesburg woman whose body was found Wednesday buried in a shallow grave.

Krystopher Laws, 21, and Joshua McClellan, 19, were arrested about 6:30 p.m. on charges of first-degree murder and robbery.

As McClellan was being booked into jail, he said he did not kill Rubye Harrison James, that he just wanted cash for pot, and that he didn't know it was her car. He also said that he loved her.

“I’m the only one that was every there for her,” he said. “She was a friend. She was a great friend.”

He struggled to speak through tears as he described how James hired him to do yard work.

“She paid me to mow her lawn and to cut the hedges, and just to help her around the house,” McClellan said.

He admitted to stealing her car and taking it for a joy ride.

McClellan said he found James’ car while looking for money in empty vehicles to buy pot.

“I just popped it open and it worked, so then I just took it for a drive,” McClellan said.

Laws asked to speak with reporters after deputies booked him into the jail.

He kept his head down most of the time and said he didn't murder James.

No details were released about why detectives believe McClellan and Laws are responsible for the deaths.

They are expected in court Saturday morning.

Authorities announced earlier Friday that a $5,000 reward was being offered for information about James.

James was last seen Tuesday. Deputies said they found her body in the grave near her abandoned vehicle at Crosby Street and Snow Place.

Her son, Wayne Solomon, told Channel 9 Thursday that he worries that his mother's generous and trusting nature might have led to her death.

Solomon said she would hire and fed strangers to help around her house.

Channel 9's Myrt Price found out Friday that James has surveillance cameras around her home, but it's unclear if the cameras captured anything.

"This lady lived alone at 92 years old. A woman of very strong faith. A very good person, from everything I heard," said John Herrell, with the Lake County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies said her death was a homicide, but the exact cause of death has not yet been released.

Deputies on Wednesday conducted a well-being check on James after someone reported that she hadn’t been seen at her Edgewood Road home.

Her car was found abandoned about 5 miles from her home, and as deputies investigated the scene, a K-9 found a shallow grave containing human remains in a nearby wooded area, Herrell said.

James was a retired educator. She worked as a reading specialist and a learning specialist with the Lake and Sumter County school districts, friends say.

"It was really heartbreaking to know that someone would do something like that to someone of that age, and a woman of integrity, because she was sweet to everyone," said former student Keith Walker.

James was his former elementary teacher, and said he said he was sad to learn of her death. Walker's wife saw James recently while shopping.

"I guess she seen her a week ago. She helped her take some groceries in from the store. And I saw her not long ago walking, and I said look at Miss Daniels still getting around, doing good," Walker said.

Daniels was James' married name when she taught Walker.

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Hear from the slain woman's heartbroken son below:

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Watch: Friend speaks about missing Lake County woman

Friends and relatives told Channel 9 that James was a sharp dresser and maybe someone targeted her because they thought she was well-off.

"They looked at her as an easy mark, I guess," Solomon said. "Jesus says I gotta love them, but in another sense, I kind of hope they get everything they got coming to them."