A small rural community in Central Florida has been shocked by the horrific murders of three teenagers whose bodies were found in three days within a five-mile radius.
Three Bodies Found on Three Separate Days
The mysterious murders of teenagers in Ocklawaha, Florida, 60 miles away from Orlando, began on March 30. Deputies from the local sheriff’s office discovered the first body of a teenager with a gunshot wound.
They discovered 16-year-old Layla Silvernail after responding to a call. The victim was still alive and taken immediately to a hospital, The Daily Mail reported.
Silvernail was left in a dumpster after someone shot her in the head. Unfortunately, she didn’t survive, as a GoFundMe page set up for her family revealed the girl was brain-dead.
The 16-year-old girl’s parents decided to take her off life support and donate her organs. The second victim of the possible triple homicide was a 17-year-old male whose identity has not been revealed.
His dead body with a gunshot wound was found by the deputies from the Marion County Sherriff’s Office on Friday, March 31.
It was dumped on the side of the road, at a location less than a mile from where Silvernail was discovered. The third victim is also a 16-year-old girl whose name remains publicly unknown.
The police found her corpse on April 1 after responding to a tip that Silvernail’s car was seen partly submerged in a local pond. The second girl’s dead body was discovered inside the vehicle after the car got pulled out of the water.
The murders of three Florida teenagers who were found shot and left for dead over the course of multiple days may be linked to “wannabe gangs,” the investigating sheriff said Tuesday. https://t.co/F2yMkcwgly
— CJ4America (@GrammyC4Zone) April 5, 2023
The three Florida teens whose bullet-riddled bodies were found abandoned in separate places last week were all friends and their deaths may be connected to a “wannabe gang,” Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods revealed Tuesday. https://t.co/KVBxV1s5u2
— The Daily Beast (@thedailybeast) April 4, 2023
A mysterious case rattled a Florida town where three teens were found shot within 48 hours. Now, investigators are working to find out who's behind their deaths. Marion County, Florida, Sheriff Billy Woods joins @TVAshleigh in an exclusive interview.#Banfield pic.twitter.com/UGVYoJorf9
— NewsNation (@NewsNation) April 5, 2023
Serial Killer Version Out, But Murders Connected
The families of the boy and the second girl victim used their rights under Marsy’s Law, allowing them to keep secret the name of their relatives who are crime victims.
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the three murders in Ocklawaha as a triple homicide. Sheriff Billy Woods ruled out the possibility that the murders were committed by a serial killer, but has not offered the public details into the investigators’ reasoning.
At the same time, Woods made it clear his office was certain the three “atrocious acts” that claimed the lives of three teenagers were connected.
This article appeared in The State Today and has been published here with permission.
