The latest on the Mount Dora slayings: Suspect back in Lake County, held without bail
TAVARES —– Vickie Lynn Williams, the person of interest in the slaying of Darryl and Sharon Getman at Waterman Village in Mount Dora, had her first appearance before a Lake County judge Saturday.
Williams, who was arrested Monday in Savannah, Georgia, was moved to the Lake County jail Friday afternoon.
Williams was captured in the couple’s 2019 Kia Soul outside the Amtrak station in Savannah.
Earlier coverage:Person of interest in Mount Dora homicides in custody in Savannah, Georgia
The first story: Mount Dora police still investigating double homicide
She was arrested and charged with grand theft auto, a third-degree felony, but Lake County Judge Emily Curington refused to set bail, noting that Williams faces two pending murder charges. A grand jury indictment is required to charge someone with first-degree murder.
The judge also appointed the Public Defender’s Office to represent her. Her next date before a judge is set for Jan. 30.
Williams, 50, her hair in disarray and wearing an olive drab jail vest, seemed passive when she was asked by the judge in the Zoom video hookup from the jail if she had any questions.
“No ma’am.”
'You think you’re going to be safe'
The slaying of the couple, who were in their 80s, shocked neighbors on Lake Margaret Circle. The complex is gated new and is staffed with security officers who watch security videos in a gatehouse. It is across Donnelly Street from the older portion of the retirement community.”
“You think you’re going to be safe,” said resident Pat Blair.
Chatham County, Georgia jail records listed an address and a man by the name of Rome Coffee as Williams' husband. Contacted by the Daily Commercial, he said, “I have no dealings with her, other than having a kid with her.” He declined to answer any other questions.
Lake County jail records list a different Savannah address for Williams.
This is how the case unfolded
Interim Mount Dora Police Chief Mike Gibson said at a press conference last week that a woman entered the complex on Dec. 30, at about 3 p.m., “dressed in a particular way” and was escorted out by security through an entry point in an opening in the rear of the complex.
At 4:14 p.m., the woman was seen again on security video on Lake Mary Circle. At about 10:58 p.m. on the same date, she went to apartment 4105 at 301 Lake Margaret Circle, and asked the woman there if she could take a shower.
The resident hit a security panic button, alerting security. Other residents reported seeing the woman asking if she could charge her phone in their home.
The woman ran out the door, snatching a set of keys as she fled. Mount Dora police were also called.
The keys were to a car and a mailbox, but not the Getmans’.
About three hours later, at 2:02 a.m., a security camera recorded the Getmans’ car leaving the complex.
By about 4 p.m. on Sunday, a worried neighbor saw the Getmans’ garage door open at 161 Lake Margaret Circle and called security. Security staffers discovered the bodies inside and called police.
Police have refused to say how the couple was killed.
Gibson said the company has brought in security experts to analyze the independent living complex, and that his officers would assist.
The CEO for Waterman Village has not returned a call to the Daily Commercial for comment.
Gibson said there are “gaps in the fence.”
He described the killings as “random” and said he believes the defendant was just passing through town.
Williams has an arrest record, most recently a trespassing charge in Savannah in December.
The couple’s adult children Anthony and Brittany Getman, said in a statement that they were “stunned, devastated and heart-broken by the horrific murder of our parents.”
This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: No bail: Suspect in Mount Dora killings extradited to Lake County jail
