Vigil held for slain teenage girl as manhunt for suspect moves south

BUSHNELL, Fla. — Dozens of people gathered at St. James Missionary Baptist Church Wednesday evening to honor a 16-year-old Lake County girl whom Sumter County deputies said was killed by a 35-year-old Bushnell man.

The vigil was held to remember Aleaya Jackson, whose body was found Sunday in a Bushnell home. Her cause of death hasn't been released.

Investigators said that Larry Peavy beat Jackson and sexually assaulted another 16-year-old girl after he brought them to that home Saturday for a party.

%

%%

%

Peavy drove the surviving victim to Tavares, where she called detectives, deputies said. They said that he drove to his sister's Fort Pierce home, where his Nissan Sentra was found Tuesday afternoon.

Investigators said that surveillance footage shows Peavy driving south on Florida's Turnpike.

Peavy's sister, who's cooperating with detectives, said that she was unaware that he was on the run, officials said. She told them that he seemed extremely nervous, so she started questioning him while driving to a store.

%

%%

%

Investigators said that Peavy exited the vehicle and had his friend drive him from Fort Pierce to Fort Lauderdale. U.S. marshals will continue to search for him Wednesday.

Jackson's mother, Nycole Jackson, told Channel 9 that the longer Peavy is at large, the more painful it is for her family to deal with its loss.

"I'm afraid he's going to take the easy way out, and I don't want that," Nycole Jackson said. "So the moment I get that call that he's in custody and that he's alive, it will be a huge relief for my family and her dad's family."

Deputies said that Peavy is wanted on murder and sexual assault charges, among others. They said that he is armed and dangerous.

Anyone with information about his whereabouts is asked to call the Sheriff's Office at 352-793-2621 or Crimeline at 800-423-8477.

Cox Media Group