Cops: Murder Suspect Killed Himself; Accomplice in Custody

Boyette shot himself after motel standoff
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 8, 2017 12:47 AM CST
Cops: Quadruple Killer Shot Himself After Standoff
This arrest photo made available by the Escambia County Sheriff's Office in Florida shows William "Billy" Boyette, under arrest in June 2015.   (Escambia County Sheriff's Office via AP)

A fugitive murder suspect who vowed he wouldn't be taken alive killed himself after being cornered at a Georgia motel Tuesday, police say. William "Billy" Boyette died of what police say was a self-inflicted gunshot wound moments after alleged accomplice Mary Rice surrendered at a motel in West Point, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. Cops believe the pair murdered Alicia Greer and Jacqueline Moore at a motel in Milton, Fla., on Jan. 31 before killing Peggy Broz in Lillian, Ala., on Feb. 3 to steal her car. A fourth victim, Kayla Crocker, was shot in Pensacola, Fla., on Monday and died from her injuries on Tuesday, USA Today reports. Rice has been charged with robbery and first-degree murder.

Police say they found the pair and that a standoff at the Motel West Point began after they received a tip from a citizen who spotted Crocker's car outside the motel at 2:30pm. The vehicle was stolen after a home invasion in which Crocker was fatally wounded but her 2-year-old son was left unharmed, AL.com reports. Boyette was confirmed dead and Rice was arrested at around 6:15pm. Boyette was in a relationship with Greer, but police say there was no known connection between him or Rice and any of the other three victims. "There is nothing to make sense of this. He needed a car, and he did not care 'cause he's an evil person," Broz's father-in-law tells NBC News. (More murder stories.)

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