Volusia County

‘I’m glad she knew that I loved her’: Mother remembers daughter after she was killed, dumped on Osteen trail

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — The mother of a 28-year-old Orange City woman’s whose body was found on an Osteen trail this week said she wants her daughter to be remembered for being caring and selfless.

“She was a very strong person,” Suzanna Humphries Reep said.

READ: Person of interest in Osteen homicide released from prison 6 weeks before shootout with deputies, sheriff says

Her daughter, Amy Desiree Layne Humphries’, body was found by a man walking down the trail Tuesday evening. Investigators said she was stabbed and slashed several times before her body was left on the walking path.

The next day, deputies said the person of interest in the case, Brandon McLean, 32, got into a shootout with Seminole County deputies in a Sanford neighborhood.

READ: Death investigation underway in Volusia County

Reep said she last saw her daughter on Saturday and gave her a big hug when they parted.

“If it’s going to be the last time you’re going to see your loved one, I’m glad that my daughter came, and I’m glad she knew that I loved her,” Reep said.

READ: ‘The worst luck’: Woman hit in the head by turtle after it smashes through windshield on I-95

McLean, the person of interest in the case, just got out of prison six weeks ago. He served time for aggravated assault, false imprisonment and home invasion robbery.

Reep said her daughter knew McLean before he served time and was talking to him while he was in prison and once he got out.

READ: Linda Stoltzfoos: Remains found in case of Amish teen abducted while walking home from church

“Amy was a lot like me and she was a fighter and she was a very strong person and she wants us all to go on,” Reep said.

Reep said once there is an arrest and trial in her daughter’s murder she plans to be there in court every step of the way making sure her daughter gets justice.

Sarah Wilson

Sarah Wilson, WFTV.com

Sarah Wilson joined WFTV Channel 9 in 2018 as a digital producer after working as an award-winning newspaper reporter for nearly a decade in various communities across Central Florida.