ST. CLOUD, Fla. — A 71-year-old man who came to Central Florida to escape the cold, ended up murdered inside his home on California Avenue (see map) in St. Cloud Thursday.
murder suspect Christopher Shipley Christopher Shipley Police are hunting for 27-year-old Christopher Shipley, who lived with the victim. The elderly man typically parked his Dodge pickup truck in the driveway, and now police say witnesses have spotted that truck in the Sanford and Oviedo area.
Charles Kilpatrick had been a snow bird for the past 15 years. The retired bus driver lived in Pennsylvania and stayed at his St. Cloud home during the winter months. Kilpatrick owned a duplex on California Avenue.
David Victory rents a unit from him and said Kilpatrick also rented out rooms in his home.
"He was a nice old man, he liked my kids, he liked us," Victory said.
Neighbors didn't think the elderly man had any enemies. So when Judy Hammond's husband went to check on Kilpatrick, they were shocked to find him on the couch. Someone had hit him in the head.
"My husband helps take care of things when he isn't here. He went in and he had a pillow over his face. He picked it up and looked at him and he was all bloody," Hammond said.
St. Cloud investigators say their number one suspect is Kilpatrick's roommate, Christoper Shipley. Police say Shipley stole Kilpatrick's 1990 Dodge pickup truck, bearing Florida tag D396WG and is now on the run.
Investigators have not released a motive at this time, but other people maybe involved with the murder.
Hammond says she can't understand why someone would kill an elderly man. He used a walker and a wheel chair and for the past three years, he had been ill.
"He was an old man, he couldn't get around very well he was a good old guy he has his ways. He was a good guy, he didn't deserve to be done the way he was done," she said.
The St. Cloud police are in the process of issuing a warrant for Shipley's arrest.
Anyone who may have information about the case or Shipley's whereabouts is encouraged to call the St. Cloud Police Department at 407-891-6700 or Crimeline at 1-800-423-TIPS.
WFTV
