BROOKSVILLE, Fla. – It’s been 44 years since two individuals had been killed in Brooksville and Hernando County investigators are nonetheless on the lookout for solutions.
Hernando County double murder
What we all know:
On Might 9, 1981, deputies stated Ricky Merrill and Dori Colyer had been final seen leaving the Hilltop Lounge on Broad Road in Brooksville.
The pair advised mates they might return to the lounge shortly, however they by no means went again.
A short time later, at 2:30 a.m., the hearth division was dispatched to a potential “brush fireplace” within the 300 block of Stafford Avenue in Brooksville, which is about one mile from the Hilltop Lounge.
Upon arrival, firefighters found a car on fireplace.
Two our bodies, later recognized as Merrill and Coyler, had been discovered contained in the car.
Who killed Ricky Merrill and Dori Colyer?
What they’re saying:
In 2019, FOX 13 spoke with Merrill’s sister, Kellie Davidson.
“It’s unhappy, it’s unhappy,” Davidson stated. “They deserved to have a pleasant life, they deserved to take pleasure in what we’ve been in a position to take pleasure in, and what I’ve been in a position to take pleasure in, they deserved that, however they didn’t get that.”
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She stated she realized extra about Rick’s closing hours from information articles than she did from investigators.
Pictured: Ricky Merrill. Courtesy: Hernando County Sheriff’s Workplace
“What I do know from the paper is that they had been injected with one thing, thus the automobile was doused with gasoline and lit on fireplace,” she stated.
“Rick’s car was pulled in about 200 toes, I imagine, face ahead,” Davidson added. “So, it was as if he really drove in there.”
The our bodies of Ricky Merrill and Dori Colyer had been discovered inside a burned automobile after they left the Hilltop Lounge on Might 9, 1981 and by no means returned.Â
In 2018, Davidson launched a web site devoted to discovering solutions.
“Tried to have a look at each alternative that we may to place it again on the market once more, and to rattle the cage, to shake the tree,” stated Davidson. “Come on, any individual’s obtained to know one thing.”
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Chilly case: 40 years after Hernando County double homicide, killers nonetheless stroll free
FOX 13 additionally spoke with Colyer’s sister, Diane Woedl, previously.
She stated her sister is perpetually 20 years previous, a younger girl robbed of her future and from her household.
Pictured: Dori Colyer. Courtesy: Hernando County Sheriff’s Workplace
“She’s been useless longer than she was alive,” Woedl defined. “She was a younger woman, he was a younger man. That they had their complete lives in entrance of them. It must be solved.”
“I simply need to know why, what occurred? Why had been they killed in such a vicious method,” stated Woedl. “She didn’t deserve it, she wasn’t a foul particular person.”
“It was a really small city, individuals needed to know. Anyone is aware of one thing and they should lastly come ahead,” she added.
‘Completely barbaric’
Dig deeper:
“Two mates that ended up being burned alive mainly in a automobile, completely barbaric,” Hernando County Sheriff’s Detective George Loydgren advised FOX 13 throughout a 2021 interview.
The division’s solely chilly case detective inherited this double homicide from the Brooksville Police Division when it was disbanded in 2018. That contemporary have a look at the small print helped discover new witnesses to query.
The pair had been discovered useless after leaving the Hilltop Lounge in Brooksville. Courtesy: Hernando County Sheriff’s Workplace
“I’ve interviewed just a few individuals already, who haven’t been spoken to, within the hopes of discovering that little bit of additional verbal proof we want, testimonial proof to go ahead within the investigation,” Loydgren stated.
Suspects that had been developed greater than 40 years in the past are nonetheless on Loydgren’s radar, however the case is chilly.
Chilly case ideas
What you are able to do:
Anybody with any data on the double murder is requested to contact Detective Loydgren at 352-754-6830.
Tipsters who need to stay nameless and be eligible for a money reward may name Hernando County Crime Stoppers at 1-866-990-TIPS (8477) or **TIPS from a cellphone.
Ideas will also be submitted by way of the web at http://www.hernandocountycrimestoppers.com.
The Supply: This story was written with data posted by the Hernando County Sheriff’s Workplace and former FOX 13 Information studies.Â
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