ORLANDO, Fla. — Marion County Sheriff Billy Woods on Friday announced the arrest of a 12-year-old and a 17-year-old as well as the search for a third suspect in connection with the murder of three minors in Ocklawaha last week.
One of the boys was already in juvenile custody after being arrested by the Orlando Police Department the day after the murder; the other was taken into custody at a Marion County school. The third suspect, who is 16, was not located by deputies Thursday night, said Woods.
“Some of you know him; you know where he is and you need to turn him in,” he said. “I will get him, I will find him and justice will be completed.”
The Orlando Sentinel does not name juveniles who have been arrested unless they are charged as adults. At the news conference, Woods said State Attorney Bill Gladson is still reviewing the case.
The announcement comes about a week after Marion County deputies found three teenagers dead from apparent gunshot wounds.
On March 30, deputies responding to a call went to Forest Lakes Park, where they found 16-year-old Layla Silvernail. She was rushed to a nearby hospital, where she later died.
The next morning, less than five miles from where Silvernail was found, deputies discovered the body of an unidentified 17-year-old boy on Southeast 94th Street and 188th Court.
On Saturday, Sivernail’s car was seen partially submerged in a pond about nine miles from where she was found. Inside the trunk, investigators found 16-year-old Camille Quarles.
The suspects and victims knew each other for a short period of time, the sheriff said.
Around the time of the murder, the suspects and victims were in the same car, Woods said. He added that because of the final suspect being at large, he was unable to divulge “everything” about the case Friday.
“Simple terms ... there is no honor among thieves,” he said at the podium, flanked by deputies. “At some point, these three individuals turned on our three victims and murdered them.”
The motive, he later stated, was connected to the robberies. The teenagers were each associated with a gang. Investigators, however, have nothing tying the killings to a “rivalry or anything,” Woods said.
A lot of evidence was left at the scene of the murder, leading investigators to the suspects.
“My emotions right now are all over the place, because I am so, so proud of my guys and girls,” Woods said about the arrests. “I didn’t do a damn thing ... they stepped up to the plate.”
The sheriff also gave thanks to the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and other agencies who assisted in the investigation.
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