Murder at Florida CG

[rockhillmanor]

Well just when you think you have seen it all you read something like this. :R
https://www.dailycommercial.com/news/20190125/dismembered-body-found-in-sumter-womans-trailer

Here are 2 Florida destination CG's you might just want to take a second look at before reserving.

August- Woman staying at RV Village On Lake Panasoffkee, Florida murders her boyfriend and dismembered him and kept him in her TT.
Neighbors complained of a foul odor so she moved the TT to another CG.

September- She then moves the TT to Wickham Park CG on the Space Coast.
Where neighbors there also start to complain of a foul odor.

December- Which at that point the police get involved and got a search warrant based on a well being check. During the search, officers found Mitchell’s dismembered body in the “advanced stages of decomposition,” the press release said, dismembered in the trailer. They determined he died in August so she was living with the remains in the RV for three months!

January - A Sumter County woman is arrested and charged with murder after authorities found her missing boyfriend’s dismembered body in the couple’s travel trailer.

Both of these CG's are destination CG's for RV'ers and Snowbirds.
Here are the links for both CG's.
https://www.lakepanrvvillage.com/amenities/
http://www.visitspacecoast.com/listings/wickham-park/-campgrounds/547/

And a police report link to Wickham Park CG police reports and during surveillance a notice of all the homeless/drugs in the tenting section situated right next to Class A parking section. And how many calls for the police there are at this CG.
You might want to review this before you reserve at this CG.
https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/local/2018/07/31/wickham-park-campgrounds-sparking-police-re...

[Scottiemom]

Mich F wrote:

Scottiemom wrote:
Yeah, I read that, Mich F. I said that the 14-day limit should extend to ALL campers, not just tenters. While the tent rule will take care of some elements of the problems they have, there is no rule regarding the driveability and condition of units. They sometimes have motorized units towed in because they don't run and then they sit there for 180 days.

Dale

Yes, I've seen a number of "RVs" there that look like they might not have made it in under their own power. I think they're not applying that 14 day limit to non tent campers is because of the number of snowbirds there every year.

Long Point park which I mentioned earlier never seems to have the problems that Wickham has. I believe that's mainly because of it's so out of the way location. They are also loaded with snow birds every winter.

Yeah, I'm sure you're right about that. We've not camped at Long Point because Wickham is so convenient to our son's. We've camped a couple times at Manatee Hammock on our way down and really like it. We've not noticed any problems there, but then, we only stayed a night or two.

Dale

[Mich_F]

Scottiemom wrote:
Yeah, I read that, Mich F. I said that the 14-day limit should extend to ALL campers, not just tenters. While the tent rule will take care of some elements of the problems they have, there is no rule regarding the driveability and condition of units. They sometimes have motorized units towed in because they don't run and then they sit there for 180 days.

Dale

Yes, I've seen a number of "RVs" there that look like they might not have made it in under their own power. I think they're not applying that 14 day limit to non tent campers is because of the number of snowbirds there every year.

Long Point park which I mentioned earlier never seems to have the problems that Wickham has. I believe that's mainly because of it's so out of the way location. They are also loaded with snow birds every winter.

[Scottiemom]

Yeah, I read that, Mich F. I said that the 14-day limit should extend to ALL campers, not just tenters. While the tent rule will take care of some elements of the problems they have, there is no rule regarding the driveability and condition of units. They sometimes have motorized units towed in because they don't run and then they sit there for 180 days.

Dale

[Mich_F]

Scottiemom wrote:
Well, we stay at Wickham park twice a year while visiting our son. I just booked for 10 days in March. I am not afraid to stay there.

There is a homeless element and I do think the park should address it better than they do and I tell them that whenever we are there. However, we have never been bothered by any of them. While we are there we do keep things locked up, but there has never been any sign of theft. It is patrolled often by park security and if you call them, they respond very quickly. This happened when we called for a homeless couple who collapsed at the entrance path to the "woods." The couple refused help, so nothing was done. Eventually the woman was found "down" by another camper walking in the woods and was taken out by ambulance.

There is nothing that says the woman who killed her "boyfriend" was living there. Many camping units are unoccupied while we camp there. The park would be wise in requiring a daily presence in camping units. If you're going to rent a campsite, you need to be there.

And, for the record, there is no "tenting" section at Wickham. If you rent a campsite, you can put anything on it you wish. Tent, trailer, motorhome, etc., but there is no designated tent section. That was our most recent complaint because some of the homeless population doesn't have tents. . . they just spread tarps over the picnic tables and live under it. I think their most recent rules maintains you must at least have a tent.

Years ago we stopped camping at Wickham when the gypsies overran the place. School busses came through to pick up the kids for school, etc. We didn't really feel comfortable with them because they would approach you and "ask" for things. And they all seemed to have pit bulls (I am not afraid of pit bulls because they are pit bulls), but these dogs would express aggression if you walked past their campsite. . and especially to other dogs. They also camped "around" the bathhouses and basically took them over, using the sinks to wash their dishes, etc.

Wickham is a very nice park and they do address problems, and they work hard to be a community park that everyone can enjoy. I think they could do more, but I'm sure they have a legal team advising them. I know a lot of winter snowbirds are there because they can stay about 180 days for FHU's for a cheap rate compared to other parks. But limiting stays 14 days for all sites would go a long ways to stopping the problems they have. I think they are trying to address it by limiting tents to 14 days.

The big reason we stay at Wickham is because it is about a mile from where our son lives. Very convenient and in March, there aren't many spots to be found. We would love to find an RV slab close by to park, but so far we haven't found one.

Dale

I mentioned earlier in this thread that my wife and I have stayed at Wickham Park a number of times, since it is next to Eastern Florida State College where we've seen a number of shows at their performing arts center.We can walk there since there's a pathway from the campground to the College.

I also mentioned that while staying at Long Point campground (another Brevard County campground) a few weeks ago, there was a notice about a change in the policy for tent campers. They are now limited to 14 day stays, then they have to leave for 14 days, before they can return for another 14 days. I would assume that applies to all Brevard County campgrounds, although I couldn't find anything about it on the rules and regulations listed on their website.

[Scottiemom]

Well, we stay at Wickham park twice a year while visiting our son. I just booked for 10 days in March. I am not afraid to stay there.

There is a homeless element and I do think the park should address it better than they do and I tell them that whenever we are there. However, we have never been bothered by any of them. While we are there we do keep things locked up, but there has never been any sign of theft. It is patrolled often by park security and if you call them, they respond very quickly. This happened when we called for a homeless couple who collapsed at the entrance path to the "woods." The couple refused help, so nothing was done. Eventually the woman was found "down" by another camper walking in the woods and was taken out by ambulance.

There is nothing that says the woman who killed her "boyfriend" was living there. Many camping units are unoccupied while we camp there. The park would be wise in requiring a daily presence in camping units. If you're going to rent a campsite, you need to be there.

And, for the record, there is no "tenting" section at Wickham. If you rent a campsite, you can put anything on it you wish. Tent, trailer, motorhome, etc., but there is no designated tent section. That was our most recent complaint because some of the homeless population doesn't have tents. . . they just spread tarps over the picnic tables and live under it. I think their most recent rules maintains you must at least have a tent.

Years ago we stopped camping at Wickham when the gypsies overran the place. School busses came through to pick up the kids for school, etc. We didn't really feel comfortable with them because they would approach you and "ask" for things. And they all seemed to have pit bulls (I am not afraid of pit bulls because they are pit bulls), but these dogs would express aggression if you walked past their campsite. . and especially to other dogs. They also camped "around" the bathhouses and basically took them over, using the sinks to wash their dishes, etc.

Wickham is a very nice park and they do address problems, and they work hard to be a community park that everyone can enjoy. I think they could do more, but I'm sure they have a legal team advising them. I know a lot of winter snowbirds are there because they can stay about 180 days for FHU's for a cheap rate compared to other parks. But limiting stays 14 days for all sites would go a long ways to stopping the problems they have. I think they are trying to address it by limiting tents to 14 days.

The big reason we stay at Wickham is because it is about a mile from where our son lives. Very convenient and in March, there aren't many spots to be found. We would love to find an RV slab close by to park, but so far we haven't found one.

Dale

[ol_Bombero-JC]

Tyler0215 wrote:
Why bash an RV park over something they had nothing to do with? Murders occur everywhere.

Like "wa8yxm" said.

"It" can happen in YOUR neighborhood - whether it's modest or posh, RV or sticks and bricks.

All under the heading of: Stuff Happens..:W

~

[CavemanCharlie]

I know of a local man who's girlfriend got mad at him a couple of weekends ago. She bit his finger just about off. He still has it but, it looks real bad. It will never be right again. I thought that they would break up. I spoke to him yesterday and they are back together again. :R

I think I'll just stay single thank you.

(My dog doesn't even bite my fingers when I hand him food)

[okoboji_fan]

Maybe she wanted a ring and a date.........

[Dutch_12078]

CavemanCharlie wrote:
See,,, there is a reason I have never gotten married !!! This is what ends up happening. I don't even have a girlfriend right now.

The woman in the subject of this thread wasn't married either... 😉

[CavemanCharlie]

See,,, there is a reason I have never gotten married !!! This is what ends up happening. I don't even have a girlfriend right now.


P.S. this is suppose to me a joke, I mean no offense to any of you poor souls ( err I mean ) men who have been, or still are, married.

[Mich_F]

As I wrote earlier, I am currently at another Brevard County Park (same county as Wickham Park) and I just noticed on one of the bulletin boards that they have changed their policy for tent campers only. As of Jan 1 tent campers can stay for 14 days at a time, then they have to leave for 14 days. They can return for another 14 day limit, if they want.

[wrktfsh]

Alcohol drugs and mental illness know no boundaries

[memtb]

Maybe she suffering from withdrawals from the northern wastelands.....just couldn’t handle warmth and sunshine of Florida! Maybe the decomposing body reminded her of the inner cities! :B

[JAC1982]

I guess that's one plus of a toyhauler... could back it up right to an alligator pond, pop open the back door, and off they go.

But really, this was an entertaining thread, thanks all 🙂