Ashley Humphrey, Killer

ASHLEY HUMPHREY : KILLER

SAMANTHA REID

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ASHLEY HUMPHREY

MARY WINKLER

TRACEY GRISSOM

KELLY GISSENDANER

WENDI ANDRIANO

PAMELA PHILLIPS

LARISSA SCHUSTER

SHEENA EASTBURN

SHARI TOBYNE

DONNA YAKLICH

There can be many reasons why someone will commit murder. Many do it for money, for revenge, or simply because they are evil people. Some people commit murder for love, but it is a rare case when someone commits murder out of fear. Such was the case in Pinelias County, Florida when the life of a young woman is turned around all because of a man who is not what he seems. And the consequence of this relationship is the death of someone she’d never even met before.

The Victim

Sandra Rozzo was a woman that everyone liked. She was friendly, supportive, and easy going. There wasn’t a single person that would seek to do her harm. That is until one man entered her life and not for the better.

Sandra, or Sandee to her friends, was working as a bartender at the Inferno in autumn of 2001. She was a fitness fanatic with a lot of energy and a big heart. Working in the VIP section of the bar was a perfect fit for her.

She got along with her co-workers. She was personable. And when a new member joined the team at the bar she took it upon herself to show him around and help him get to know everyone. This one act of kindness would be one that she would regret forever.

The Man

Timothy Humphrey was known as Tracey to his friends and he was a man with an elaborate history. He seemed nice, soft-spoken, charming, and funny. He told friends that he’d once modeled for Hugo Boss and Armani and that he was a former football player for the Florida Bucks.

The truth about Tracey was a great deal different than the story he told. The 35-year-old was attractive in a way that was intimidating and he ha a history of violence against women. He used his attractiveness to his advantage and left a trail of damaged women behind him.

Tracey took Sandra’s kind-heartedness as a sexual interest in him. He made advances on her and she kept turning him down, but he didn’t seem to take no for an answer. And Sandra was too kind to completely ignore him. And because of her kind nature, Sandra continued her friendship with Tracey, until he crossed a line.

On February 22, 2002, after driving her home from work, he let himself into her house and assaulted her. She alleged that he raped her and beat her up. He wouldn’t let her leave. Wouldn’t let her go to work. Wouldn’t let her see her friends, stated Detective Golczwski.

She finally got away from him when he took her to catch a flight. There she contacted a friend and followed that with a police report. Tracey was arrested and charged with assault. It was not the first time this had happened and with the history he had of assault he was facing a long-haul sentence of 10 years if he was convicted. However, Sandra Rozzo would never get her day in court.

The Scapegoat

After the incident, Tracey quit working at the Inferno. He began a job as a person trainer in the town of Brandon. In September 2002 he met 19-year-old Ashley Laney who was looking to sign up for a trial membership. Tracey was responsible for new customer relations. He was supposed to tell potential new gym members about the gym, about what he as a trainer could do for them, and what the gym had to offer. The two immediately developed a friendship.

Ashley had a history of her own. Her father had been sent to jail for sexual battery by the time she was born in 1982. And her mother had substance abuse issues. Ashley was brought up primarily by her grandmother. Despite this, Ashley was a bright child and managed to keep out of trouble growing up.

With her father in prison and her mother living in a bottle, it was a shock that Ashley was a good student without any issues. That is up until her grandmother died during her senior year of high school. Still, Ashley graduated with honors, but she dropped out of university during her first year and that was the end of her academic career. She began working at a café across the road from the gym where Tracey worked.

Tracey and Ashley hit it off the moment they met, but he was less than honest with her. He had lied about his past to friends, and he continued to lie about his past to Ashley. He had all these grand stories, none of which were true. And she bought them hook, line, and sinker.

After a few sessions at the gym, Tracey asked Ashley out to dinner, despite being 16 years her senior. Soon they were seeing each other regularly but not exclusively. They became sex buddies, friends with benefits. They were both seeing other people, but Ashley remained monogamous in the bedroom with Tracey. However, he did not.

Ashley had no idea that Tracey had been in and out of prison for the last 15 years. She had no knowledge of his criminal involvement or activity. She had no idea that he had a history of violence against women and that he was currently awaiting trial for his most recent offense.

Ashley believed that she was in a relationship with a former model, former football player, and current fitness trainer. She believed him to be a kind, soft-spoken man who was very interested in her. She fell head over heels in love with him.

The Truth – Or So He Said

By early 2003, Ashley had left her café job and had begun working with Tracey at the gym. Still very much unaware of his past, she began dating him exclusively. She confided in her hairdresser that she had never been happier. She was in love and that was al there was to it.

In March of 2003, Ashley moved in with Tracey and they began to consider a life together. It was only then that Tracey felt the need to be honest with Ashley about his past and the situation with Sandra. Well, as honest as he could be.

After she had heard all he had to say Ashley still believed that he was completely innocent. She believed that Sandra had made the whole thing up to get back at Tracey for seeing other women while they were together. Even though they had never had a real relationship, but Ashley didn’t know that.

Ashley was also aware of the fact that Tracey would do anything to stay out of prison. He worked really hard to convince her that they couldn’t be together if he went back to prison. They talked about a lot of options, including a suicide pact in order to keep him out of jail or running away and going on the lamb.

Despite being head over heels for the man, Ashley left Tracey in the summer of 2003 after she alleged he was having an affair with someone at work. She wasn’t going to stand for him being unfaithful. She went to her mother’s house to get away from him and Tracey followed her there. Despite her mother’s insistence on calling the police they were never called. And Ashley and Tracey made up and she went home with him again.

Tracey decided that he wasn’t going to meet anyone like Ashley again, and that he didn’t want to keep looking for someone either. So, after getting each other’s names tattooed on their backs they decided that they should get married. And they used the tattoos in place of getting engagement rings.

On July 4, 2003 the two were married at the gym. They had their papers notarized while training clients and they went out to dinner after at the Cheesecake Factory. It was nothing extravagant.

The following night they had take out pizza for dinner, an even more modest meal. And it was a dinner that would become more significant as time went on. It was a dinner that would be a key part in the investigation to come.

The Murder

At 10:30pm on the July 5, 2003, Sandra ended her shift at the Green Iguana, which is where she had gone to work after leaving the Inferno. After the incident with Tracey she had no want to stay at that bar so she had moved on with her life.

She left work that night and she got into her BMW, likely tired from a long shift at work. She left the parking lot and headed to her apartment about a half an hour away, like she would any other night. Her boyfriend, Tony, was at home waiting for her.

Tony had gone to sleep early that night but he was awoken by something that sounded like fireworks. He thought nothing of it as it was the day after Independence Day and may people could still be celebrating. However, after a while he began to wonder about why Sandra hadn’t come home yet.

Tony went downstairs to look for Sandra at 11:15pm. He went down to the garage only to find that Sandra’s car in it, but something was horribly wrong. He ran over to the car and discovered her slumped over in the seat driver’s. He was so upset he didn’t know what had happened. He used her cell phone to call 911.

The police and emergency service workers rushed to Sandra’s apartment. According to Detective Golczwski, who arrived at the scene soon after first responders, the driver’s side window was smashed and inside the vehicle, especially on the passenger side seat and floorboard, there was a lot of blood. And then also on the driver’s seat up towards the top there was a good amount of blood.

Sandra was rushed to the hospital, but there was nothing they could do to help her. At 12:04am, 37-year-old Sandra Rozzo was pronounced dead.

She had been shot in the head, which would have been a fatal wound. She had three other bullet wounds to her upper torso as well and she had two in her legs and one in her foot. She was shot 8 times in total.

The police found shell casing from a 22 caliber weapon, probably a pistol, and likely semi-automatic from the way the shell casings were distributed in the vehicle.

You have to be pretty cold hearted to walk up and shoot someone not only once, but eight times, stated Detective Golczwski.

Sandra’s family and her boyfriend were questioned about the incident. Tony told the police about Sandra’s upcoming trial on August 4, 2003 with Tracey Humphrey. They told police that Tracey had threatened to kill Sandra more than once and had even gone as far as to threaten her family.

When I was asking him questions about who would want to harm Sandra, it was almost like a light bulb when off in his head, stated Detective Golczwski. And it gave the police a suspect. But there was only one problem: Tracey had an airtight alibi.

The Alibi

Tracey was the only suspect in the murder of Sandra Rozzo. Looking at his history from police reports he seemed to have a history of violence, stated Detective Golczwski. He had a history of violence against women and he had a history with Sandra.

So, with that in mind, the police decided to pay Tracey a visit. On July 7, 2003 the drove over the Brandon, 30-40 miles away, to speak to Tracey. He wasn’t home when they arrived so they left a card on the door asking him to contact them.

Tracey made the effort to call the police back and he offered to meet the detectives at the gym. However, when they showed up, he