3 men indicted in 3 unrelated killings across Volusia County in October

Three men have been indicted on charges of first-degree murder in three separate killings across Volusia County in October.

The Volusia County Grand Jury was sworn in Monday and turned in the indictments the same day, according to the State Attorney’s Office. Here are the defendants facing charges:

Walter Russell, 45, was indicted on one count of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm. Russell is accused of shooting three people on Oct. 5 at a homeless camp in Edgewater. John G. Ellis, 39, was killed and Amanda L. Cormier-Campbell, 22, and Frank J. Matott, 41, were injured.

Russell told detectives that Matott had previously tried to rob him during a narcotics deal and had sold him "bad dope." Russell said he crouched down as he approached the homeless camp where people were not expecting him. He said the "people at the camp charged toward him" and he turned and fired "behind him as he went back up the trail," the affidavit stated.

Russell's fiancé, Laura Carter, 42, was taken into custody as an accessory after the fact to a capital felony. Both are from New Smyrna Beach.

Investigators recovered 11 9 mm casings at the scene.

Joseph McDonald, 31, was indicted on a charge of first-degree murder. McDonald is accused of fatally stabbing a 21-year-old Kyle Sue at a Deltona home on Oct. 8. McDonald was angry when he didn't receive a marijuana cigarette when he asked for it and instead was told to wait, according to the charging affidavit.

McDonald's brother, Orlando Torres, told investigators that McDonald had moved in about two months earlier after leaving a facility in South Florida where he was being treated for bipolar disorder and schizophrenia and was constantly in a "state of aggressive psychosis" and did not take his medication.

Shantell Adkins, 35, was indicted on a charge of first-degree murder. Adkins shot his wife, Shawntai Adkins, 34, in the head at their Daytona Beach home on Thursday. The shooting followed an argument which began over Shantell Adkins riding his motorcycle while intoxicated, according to police.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: 3 men indicted in unrelated murders in Volusia County