ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — A 36-year-old man with autism was murdered by a group of teenagers a week ago on Tuesday evening as he was leaving a local store.
According to police reports, Carl Starke was on his way to see his mother after he left the store at the Vista Cove Condos when the teenagers, who wanted to steal his car, killed him.
Two of the suspects, Christopher O’Neal, 16, and Kevin Williams, 17, were arrested shortly after a car chase between the group of suspects and the local police took place.
They were charged with murder.
Other persons of interest include another teenager who was hospitalized after the car chase Wednesday.
Both O’Neal and Williams were caught by police after the car chase ended in a manhunt through one of the county’s wooded areas.
According to Saint Johns County Office of the Sheriff’s Lt. Mark Ochkie:
“[We] were able to apprehend them without incident. They were wore out and tired. They had been running in the woods.”
Starke’s family was left devastated by his mother. His sister, Carli Durden, said her brother never had an enemy. She told:
“We want everyone to know that he never had an enemy and had the purest heart.
“The loss our family has suffered doesn’t make sense. It is something that you never expect to happen and that no one can prepare you for.”
Authorities say that is likely that more arrests are to be made and more charges are to be filed in connection with Starke’s murder.
Source: actionnewsjax.com Police: Man with autism followed home from Walmart, killed