‘See You in Hell’: Florida Man Made Cryptic Facebook Posts Between Murders of Mother and Two Other Women Before Dying In Shootout with Cops
A man who fatally shot his mother, his cousin, and another woman in two cities near Tampa, Florida, made updates on Facebook about his deadly shooting spree, investigators say.
Manatee County deputies investigated three separate homicides on the night of June 24 that were all reportedly carried out by 28-year-old Javontee Brice.
Sheriff Rick Wells revealed that the murder spree began after Brice stopped at an apartment complex in Palmetto where he met up with his sister and ex-girlfriend, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
Brice’s sister told investigators that Brice was “acting very strange” during his visit.
“He looked at the ex-girlfriend and said, ‘I have to kill you.’ Somehow, the sister was able to talk him down and talk him out of him shooting this ex-girlfriend,” Wells said in a news conference.
When he left, he headed to a Motel 6 in Bradenton, where his mother, her boyfriend, and two little girls were staying.
At 9:15 p.m. that night, police were called to the motel. They found Brice’s 48-year-old mother dead with multiple gunshot wounds.
“He walked into that hotel room, looked at the mother, and said, ‘I’m sorry,’” Wells said. “She asked, ‘What did you do?’ And he shoots her three times in front of the boyfriend and these two young juveniles.”
Witnesses told investigators that Brice came to the hotel, shot his mother, and fled the scene. However, it’s unclear what provoked his actions.
At 9:40 p.m., deputies were called to a home in Palmetto, where they found Brice’s 29-year-old cousin sitting in a parked SUV with gunshot wounds. Medics rushed her to a local hospital, where she later died from her injuries.
Witnesses said that Brice’s cousin was at a cookout celebrating her birthday and when she left, Brice shot her as she got into her car.
It was at 9:36 p.m. that Brice wrote on his Facebook account under the name Scoota Brice, “I love you Coyaa Brice see you in hell.”
Just after 10 p.m., deputies learned about another shooting in Bradenton. Investigators learned that Brice shot another adult woman, who was also taken to a hospital, where she died.
According to Sheriff Wells, that woman was the partner of one of Brice’s ex-girlfriends.
At 10:05 p.m., Brice posted on Facebook, “Pig I love you but you had to go.”
After the third shooting, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office issued a statewide alert notifying law enforcement in every jurisdiction to look out for Brice’s vehicle.
Authorities from multiple agencies helped track Brice to Hamilton County, Florida, which is more than 230 miles north of Bradenton. Deputies learned he was heading to Georgia to kill someone else who might have been another ex-girlfriend.
At 11:22 p.m., Brice posted, “Baby I Love You To!! Kyla D. Blackmon,” on his Facebook page. Just after midnight on Tuesday, he made his last post: “Since I can’t catch you ima catch your brother n**** you got me F*** up.”
Deputies caught up with Brice at 1:30 a.m. and pulled him over. They said that Brice got out of the car and started shooting. When deputies returned fire, they killed Brice.
Officers detained a woman who was in Brice’s car and may have accompanied him to all the shooting scenes.
Wells stated that Brice’s Facebook posts are part of the murder investigations. No motive has been determined yet, but police plan to interview Brice’s family members to see if they can recall his activities and his mental and emotional state in the days before the shootings.
“We don’t know what set this man off. We don’t know why he chose to kill his loved ones. We may never know, but we’re going to continue to investigate,” Wells said.
In the hours leading up to the shootings, Brice made multiple Facebook posts, including one that said, “The Only Relationship I Know I’ll Never Lose Is With The Lord.”
The day before the murders, he posted videos of two little girls who appear to be his daughters with the caption, “I Maybe Brake & Broken Hundreds Of Women Hearts But I’ll Never Break Y’all Hearts! I Love You So So Much! “Both Yall First Words Were DaDa” #MyBabies.”