Family seeks answers after man accused of killing 83-year-old woman is freed from jail

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The family of an 83-year-old woman who was shot to death is looking for answers after her killer was released from jail.

Orange County deputies said that in September 2018, Billy Derosiers walked into a home on 24th Street and fatally shot Ruby Steplight after getting into an argument with Steplight's grandson over $900. A 14-year-old was also shot in the leg.

Derosiers was charged with first-degree murder, but the court recently found he was not competent to proceed to trial due to an intellectual disability or autism. Records show Derosiers didn't meet the criteria for involuntary hospitalization, but he may benefit from an outside competency restoration program.

"I'm so angry with the judge and everybody else who took part in this," said Steplight's sister, Maple Turner. "It's not right."

According to court records, Derosiers was given several psychiatric evaluations before his release from jail last month.

"The rationale behind those decisions we can only guess, but I'm quite confident that the judge evaluated every aspect of these reports," said former Chief Judge Belvin Perry.

Perry told Channel 9 that Derosiers will be evaluated once a year.

Steplight's family doesn't understand the decision.

"You were competent enough to walk in that house and I'm pretty sure my mother-in-law begged for her life," said Wanda Jackson, Steplight's daughter-in-law. "You shot her anyway."

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