A standoff Tuesday outside a Georgia motel ended with one capital murder suspect dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound and his alleged accomplice in police custody.
William "Billy" Boyette, 44, was confirmed dead about 6:15 p.m. and Mary Rice, 37, was arrested, according to U.S. Marshals, after the pair had been on the run for more than a week.
Credit: Todd J. Van Emst/Opelika-Auburn
Credit: Todd J. Van Emst/Opelika-Auburn
Troup County Sheriff James Woodruff said Rice came out of the West Point motel and surrendered moments before Boyette shot and killed himself.
"We're just glad none of our guys got hurt,” Troup County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Sgt. Stewart Smith told Channel 2 Action News. “Obviously, we didn't want anyone to take their own life. We're just glad it did end this way in a peaceful resolution and nobody else got injured."
The Troup County Sheriff’s Office received a tip about 2:30 p.m. from someone who spotted the car that was being discussed in the media and on social media, Woodruff said.
An officer was dispatched to the Motel West Point and confirmed it was the car stolen from Pensacola, Fla., resident Kayla Crocker, 28, who was allegedly shot by the couple Monday and died Tuesday night, according to multiple media reports.
Deputies confirmed there were people inside the motel room because Boyette and Rice opened the curtains periodically and waved at law enforcement, the Pensacola News Journal reported.
A U.S. Marshals spokesman told the News Journal that Rice checked into the motel using her real name.
Authorities in Alabama had issued capital murder warrants Tuesday for the couple.
The bodies of Alicia Greer, 30, and Jacqueline Jeanette Moore, 39, were found Jan. 31 in Milton, Fla. On Friday, 52-year-old Peggy Broz was fatally shot and her car was stolen in Lillian, Ala.
"In short, we have a killer, he is in our midst," Escambia County (Fla.) Sheriff David Morgan had said Monday afternoon before the standoff in Georgia.
Morgan said Boyette had a history of drug trafficking and was known to have been a heavy user of the drug Spice.
U.S. Marshals from across the country, along with bloodhounds and helicopters, had been taking part in the search.
About the Author
