Florida authorities arrest 2 juveniles in connection to triple homicide
The Marion County Sheriff’s Office in Florida has arrested two juveniles in connection to the killings of three teenagers on March 30. A third suspect remains at large.
Florida authorities have made two arrests in connection with the killings of three teenagers in rural Marion County around March 30 and are searching for a third suspect.
The Marion County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) arrested two juveniles, one of whom is just 12 years old and the other 17, in connection with the triple homicide. A 16-year-old suspect is at large.
"There are individuals out there viewing…who want to blame the one thing that has no ability or the capacity to commit the crime itself, and that's the gun," MCSO Sheriff Billy Woods said during a press conference. "These individuals committed the crime."
The three suspects "fled the scene but left a lot of evidence in their wake," Woods said.
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Marion County (Florida) Sheriff Billy Woods announces the arrests of three juveniles in connection to the killings of three teens. (MCSO)
The suspects are part of a larger group who have been involved in burglaries and robberies, according to the sheriff.
Police previously said the suspects may have been tied to gangs, though they "have nothing specific to say that it was any rivalry or anything to such that cause."
"However, each and every one of them in some shape way or form was associated with a gang. There is no honor among thieves, and at some point, these three individuals turned on our three victims and murdered them," Woods said.
The sheriff added that he had to "stare into the eyes" of the suspects' mothers, who were "willing to give their sons everything," on Thursday evening before their arrests. Police said the two suspects who were arrested were surprised when authorities showed up to take them into custody.
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"The fact is: society fails them. We do not hold our juveniles accountable. We minimize their actions," Woods said.
The three deceased teenage friends — a 17-year-old male and two 16-year-old females identified as Layla Silvernail and Camille Quarles — were shot and left for dead in the rural county north of Orlando sometime between March 30 and April 1.
Layla Silvernail, left, and Camille Quarles, along with an unidentified 17-year-old male, were shot and left for dead in Marion County, Florida, between March 30 and April 1. (Facebook/Layla Silvernail/Camille Quarles)
The triple homicide has left Marion County residents on edge, especially after officials announced the unrelated murder of an adult male last week.
The mystery began March 30, when MCSO deputies responded to the area of Forest Lakes Park on SE 183rd Avenue Road, where they located Silvernail, 16, with a gunshot wound.
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Authorities transported the teenager to a hospital in critical condition, and she lost brain function until she was pronounced dead.
A day after finding Silvernail, MCSO deputies responded to SE 94th Street and SE 188th Court and located a deceased 17-year-old male with a gunshot wound.
The next morning, on April 1, the MCSO Major Crimes Unit, Forensic Unit and Underwater Recovery Team responded to a tip and searched the area of Malauka Loop and Malauka Loop Trace and found Silvernail’s vehicle partially submerged in a body of water. The car was about nine miles from where Silvernail was found.
Three teenage shooting victims were found left for dead miles apart in Marion County, Florida, between March 30 and April 1. (America's Newsroom)
The suspects were in Silvernail's vehicle with the victims prior to their deaths, according to the sheriff. Authorities believe all three victims were shot at the same time.
"She was there of her own free will," Woods said of Silvernail.
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After obtaining a search warrant and searching her vehicle, authorities found 16-year-old Quarles in Silvernail's car dead from a gunshot wound. The arrested suspects confessed to shooting Quarles in the vehicle, Woods said. The suspects obtained guns from car burglaries, he explained.
Woods previously told Fox News Digital that he believed the suspects were part of a "wannabe" or "neighborhood" gang, and the victims likely knew them for a short time.
The attorney general's office is reviewing whether to try the three suspects as adults, Woods said.
Layla Silvernail's family is planning to donate the 16-year-old's organs, according to a GoFundMe effort. (Facebook/Layla Silvernail)
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Police have not released the name of the male victim who was killed.
Woods said his office is seeking any information regarding Silvernail's vehicle, a white Chevy sedan, from anyone who may have seen it on or around March 30.
The MCSO is asking anyone with information to contact Det. Ryan Stith at 352-368-3542. Anonymous tipsters can contact Crime Stoppers of Marion County at 352-368-STOP (7867) and reference No. 23-22.
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