Dad kills wife of 30 years, two adult children, Florida cops say. He’s sentenced

A longtime church music director shot and killed his wife of 30 years, as well as his adult son and daughter, then called 911 on himself, Florida authorities said.

William Broyles, now 60, avoided the death penalty and was sentenced to life in prison after pleading guilty to three counts of first-degree murder, the State Attorney’s Office for the Fourth Judicial Circuit announced May 13.

“This is the saddest and most tragic case I’ve dealt with in 32 years,” his attorney, Richard Kuritz, told McClatchy News. “There was no motive, it was just a mental health break.”

Family remembered Broyles as a talented musician and engineer, as well as a family man who was dedicated to caring for his autistic daughter.

“He was always so generous with his time and talents, which were numerous,” a family member said in a victim impact statement in court. “He could do anything, from tearing a car apart to putting it back together in perfect condition, to solving any and all family (technology) issues.”

After Broyles’ arrest, he was declared incompetent, halting proceedings for years until he was formally deemed competent to stand trial in May, at which point he pleaded guilty.

Broyles called 911 the morning of Dec. 1, 2021, to report he had just shot his wife, their son and their daughter, and he was waiting outside their home for law enforcement, the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office wrote in an arrest affidavit.

Broyles was lying on the ground in the driveway when first responders arrived, deputies said.

Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said deputies found 57-year-old Candace Broyles face down on the floor of the living room before finding 27-year-old Cara Broyles in her bed and 28-year-old Aaron Broyles on the carpet of his bedroom.

All three were dead, authorities said.

Broyles said he shot his wife first, then his daughter as “she was waking up,” then he kicked open his son’s door and shot him too, according to deputies.

Broyles is accused of going to get another gun and returning to his son’s room to shoot him again. He told investigators he had shot each of them multiple times so they didn’t suffer, deputies wrote in the report.

“This case is just tragic, it’s crazy, it just doesn’t make sense,” Leeper said while speaking to the media early in the investigation.

The sheriff said there was no history of domestic violence calls to that address and there were “no anger issues in his past.”

Broyles was the director of music ministries at Hodges Boulevard Presbyterian Church in Jacksonville and had been a musician there for 23 years. According to an old bio, he had been “happily married” for three decades to his wife, with whom he had three children.

Those who knew Broyles said the person he had become was not the man they used to know.

“We not only lost our dear loved ones, but also lost a good friend in Bill,” a family member said.

Nassau County is the northernmost county on Florida’s Atlantic coast.

This story was originally published May 15, 2025 at 6:12 PM with the headline "Dad kills wife of 30 years, two adult children, Florida cops say. He’s sentenced."