The murder of Tiffany James that took place right in front of her twin daughters left the community of Brandon (Tampa, Florida, USA) in shock. Focusing the investigation on the victim’s ex-boyfriend and current boyfriend, the police obtained valuable leads.
The Halloween Night Murder
Around 11 pm on October 31, 2015, as residents were celebrating Halloween, police in Brandon (an eastern suburb of Tampa, Florida, USA) received a call from a terrified woman.
The woman told the dispatcher that she heard a loud bang. As she stepped outside to see what was happening, a horrifying scene met her eyes.
The witness recognized her 35-year-old neighbor Tiffany James lying on the ground and someone wearing a Halloween costume, pointing a handgun directly at Tiffany.
Too frightened, the woman immediately closed the door and hid, and shortly after heard three gunshots. A little while later, there was a knock on her door. Still trembling, the woman hesitated but ultimately decided to open the door.
Outside stood two terrified twin girls in bloody Halloween costumes. One of the children was so traumatized she couldn’t even speak.
Police and emergency crews quickly arrived at the apartment complex crime scene. The victim was immediately taken to the hospital but died later from the severe injuries.
The Mysterious Man
Tiffany’s death in front of her two daughters left the Brandon community stunned. Witnesses said they saw the person in the Halloween costume flee the murder scene. Besides all believing it was a man, they couldn’t provide any other descriptive details.
Some others reported seeing a silver car quickly leaving the apartment complex around the time of the shooting but no one saw the license plate. There were no security cameras in this complex.
Beginning the investigation, police focused on the men in Tiffany’s life – her ex-boyfriend Darryl Williams and her current boyfriend.
Darryl was 14 years older than Tiffany. When they first met in 2008, both already had children from previous relationships. After having twin girls together, they had planned to get married. But that wedding never happened and they split up 5 years later.
In the summer of 2015, Tiffany happened to reconnect with an old friend who was also a single father. Within just a few months before the murder, their friendship had turned into a romantic relationship.
The detectives decided to first interrogate Tiffany’s current boyfriend. This man said that according to the plan, Tiffany was supposed to come over to his place with the twin girls after changing into their Halloween costumes, but they never showed up.
He also told police that on the night of the murder, he saw a black car that seemed to be following Tiffany, with a mask hanging from the rearview mirror. This man believes the driver of that car was Darryl Williams.
The Unstable Relationship
When the police went to Darryl’s house, he had disappeared. However, neighbors reported that Darryl owned a black car and two others.
Darryl’s adult daughter said her father was a controlling man with violent behavior, having even pointed a gun at his ex-wife’s face before. “I know what my dad is capable of. If something happened to Ms. Tiffany, then my dad is the suspect,” the daughter stated.
The investigation revealed that when Tiffany decided to end the relationship, Darryl’s erratic behavior escalated, frequently showing up at her workplace to harass her and disabling her car.
Just one day before the murder, Tiffany and Darryl had been in court for the judge to rule on custody of the twins. The judge awarded Tiffany primary custody and ordered Darryl to pay child support until they became adults.
The Cruel Father
Police later found Darryl Williams’ black car at the home of his new girlfriend Rosalind. Notably, Rosalind owned a silver car similar in shape to the one seen fleeing the murder scene.
Rosalind stated that Darryl came to her house on Halloween night and slept over. But when checking Rosalind’s phone records, police discovered she was not home that night, but rather at Tiffany’s apartment complex.
Eventually, Rosalind admitted to driving Darryl to Tiffany’s complex but claimed she had no idea what he intended until he put on a mask and took out a gun before exiting the car. Rosalind confessed to witnessing Darryl pull the trigger for the first shot before driving away from the crime scene.
Based on Rosalind’s statement, police arrested Darryl on murder charges. However, prosecutors decided to offer Darryl a plea deal for a lighter sentence.
The reason was they did not want to put the 7-year-old twin girls through the trauma of testifying against their father in court, fearing severe psychological harm. Darryl was condemned as a cruel father for his disregard for his own children having to witness him kill their mother.
Per the plea deal with prosecutors, Darryl pled guilty and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. However, he never revealed his motive for killing his ex in court.
While incarcerated, Darryl confided to a fellow inmate that he killed Tiffany James because she refused to get back together with him, and if he couldn’t have her, he wouldn’t let anyone else.
Darryl is projected to be released from prison in 2035.
