A suspect was stabbed to death after he entered a couple's home and shot a woman in the face in Highlands County Thursday night, deputies said.
The Highlands County Sheriff's Office said deputies were called to the home on Joe Hilton Street in Avon Park around 8:30 p.m. after receiving a call about a "suspicious incident."
When they arrived, deputies said they found the victims, a husband and wife who are both 69, with serious injuries.
“The male victim had his wits about him and was able to answer some questions," said Highlands County Sheriff Paul Blackman. "He expressed to our deputies that he had just killed a man inside of his residence and that the man was still inside there.”
That person, a suspect who deputies identified as Lindsey Glenn, 62, was dead inside the home. Deputies said Glenn used a "ruse" to gain entry into the home.
“The female victim in this case will often notarize things for different folks in the community, and it is not uncommon for someone to knock on the door, come into the house, and for her to notarize something," said Sheriff Blackman.
Once inside the home, the Sheriff said Glenn shot the woman in the face.
“Immediately victim #2, the male, jumped into action, he started fighting the suspect, and there was, according to the scene, there was a great struggle between the two of them," said Blackman. "Somewhere along the way, victim #2, the male, produced a knife.”
The suspect later died. Sheriff Blackman said Glenn was "cut to pieces" by the time deputies could get to him.
The Sheriff said they don’t know if the suspect knew the victims in this case but did point to the intruder’s extensive criminal history including robbery and burglary.
“We don’t have a lot of home invasions in the Highlands County area, but when we do, they’re usually pretty gruesome crime scenes, and we don’t have a lot of them where the suspect is killed on the scene and the victims are both alive," said Blackman. "It’s usually the other way around, so we’re very glad that this one turned out the way that it did.”
Tyris Godfrey lives across the street from where the home invasion happened and said his girlfriend called 911.
“Very loving people, they do whatever they can for the community. They feed the community. They’re church people. He’s a good mechanic," said Godfrey. "Everybody in the neighborhood speaks very highly of them, and it’s very sad for what happened.”
Deputies said the woman is stable, while the man was treated at a local hospital and released. The investigation is still ongoing.
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