‘I would spend the rest of my life in a 6-by-8 cell for her,’ says father accused in slaying
A 50-year-old Palm Beach County man is facing a murder charge following the shooting death of a man he suspected of being abusive toward his adult daughter.
Joseph William Hamilton had a long simmering dispute with the man who was shot in the head about 6 p.m. Saturday and was taken off life-support at St. Mary’s Medical Center on Tuesday, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said.
The victim’s name was not disclosed by investigators and it was redacted from the arrest report.
Witnesses, surveillance videos, and cellphone records helped identify Hamilton as the shooting suspect and he was arrested Tuesday. During questioning, he described the ongoing feud between himself and the victim over the poor treatment of Hamilton’s daughter, detectives said.
“I would spend the rest of my life in a six by eight cell for her,” the arrest report quoted Hamilton as saying.
Surveillance video showed the victim arguing with Hamilton’s daughter at her job earlier that day, leaving her in tears. Hamilton showed up later, talked to her, hugged her, then left angry.
Hamilton said he went to the victim’s home and waited. When the victim showed up, Hamilton said, “We need to talk,” the report stated.
Hamilton told detectives they argued and when the victim charged at him Hamilton fired three or four shots at the man before running away.
Hamilton said it was self-defense. Investigators said at least one of the shots was fired at the victim as he lay on the ground.
He told detectives several times that he was licensed to carry a gun, investigators said.
Hamilton said he took the gun apart and tossed the pieces into “canals and ponds throughout Palm Beach County.” Detectives later recovered the gun barrel from a sewer drain and the ammunition magazine from a trash can with Hamilton’s help, the report stated.
Hamilton is facing charges of first-degree murder with a firearm and destroying evidence for allegedly dismantling and disposing of the gun. He is being held in the Palm Beach County Jail without bond, records show.
Wayne K. Roustan can be reached at wkroustan@sunsentinel.com or 561-379-6119 or on Twitter @WayneRoustan
