Florida woman ‘executed’ a man and burned the evidence in homicide case, sheriff says

A Florida woman has been charged with first-degree murder after authorities say she admitted to shooting a 21-year-old Lakeland man in the head twice.

Polk County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the scene of the shooting Thursday morning after caretakers at an orange grove found John Witherington’s body in the driver seat of a blue Kia. According to an autopsy report, he died after being shot twice in the head.

While processing the crime scene, detectives say they found a pair of women’s flip-flops nearby, which led them to question Heather Tyler of Lakeland. The 28-year-old told investigators that the sandals belonged to her and that she was with the victim around the time of his death, according to an arrest report.

According to witness statements, Witherington borrowed the Kia from a friend and drove to Tyler’s house on Wednesday to pick her up for a trip to the convenience store after they hung out for a few hours. The two of them drove out to 80 Foot Road in Alturas.

Tyler gave detectives “several versions” of what happened in the vehicle, but admitted to shooting Witherington in the head while he was driving and shooting him again once the car came to a stop.

“She then took (Witherington’s) wallet and fled the scene, leaving her shoes behind and burned her clothes that had his blood on them,” a news release said.

The sheriff’s office said Tyler did not reveal a “clear motive” for the killing.

Sheriff Grady Judd weighed in on the case, as well, calling it “cold-blooded first-degree murder.”

“Regardless of Heather’s many reasons and excuses, we know that she executed Joseph Witherington by shooting him in the back of the head while he was driving down a dirt road between orange groves — and that is first-degree murder and we have charged her accordingly.”

Tyler has also been charged with tampering with evidence and grand theft of a firearm. She was booked into the Polk County Jail on Friday and is being held without bond.

This story was originally published March 30, 2019 at 1:15 PM.