Osceola County Sheriff Marcos Lopez shared more details of the gruesome triple homicide that occurred Tuesday in Buenaventura Lakes.
Justin Atkinson, 43, his son Calvin, 16, and Anthony Mull, 25, were shot and killed at their apartment complex at Royal Palm Drive and Gardner Lane. Lopez said Kevin Torres, 41, confessed to the shootings after being taken into custody.
According to Lopez, Torres came to his home at The Flower Place Apartments that morning and found Justin Atkinson, who he'd "known from the neighborhood and did drugs together." Assuming Atkinson was there to rob him, Torres shot him. Atkinson was unarmed, police said.
Torres then went to Atkinson's apartment in another building in the complex. Mull answered the door, and Torres, believing Mull would be angry that he shot Atkinson, shot Mull. Hearing the gunshots, Calvin Atkinson came out of his room, and was subsequently shot.
Two female minors, ages 16 and 11, witnessed the shootings. Under threat of shooting them as well, Torres forced them to collect any items of value from the apartment, took them and fled.
Lopez stated that Torres then went to the home of his grandmother's friend, took her purse with her car keys, and stole her car, fleeing to Orange County. He was located on Rio Grande Avenue in south Orlando, and apprehended by the Orange County SWAT team, who he told he had ingested drugs. After a trip to a local hospital for medical clearance, he was taken to the Osceola Sheriff's Office, where Lopez said Torres gave "a full, detailed confession."
The homicides were discovered when Sheriff's deputies conducted a well-being check Tuesday morning.
Lopez said Torres had been arrested for seven felonies among his 46 arrests. A check of Osceola County court records shows a 2017 Osceola case when prosecutors allege he fled from police in a high-speed chase.
Lopez said Tuesday he was struck by the oddity of the case.
"You don't have triple homicides every day," he said. "Rest assured, this is an isolated incident. You are safe."
Torres is expected to make his first appearance in front of a judge Wednesday morning. To recap, Torres is now charged with:
- grand theft auto
- armed burglary to an occupied dwelling
- 3 counts of premeditated murder
- home invasion with a firearm
- burglary of a structure while armed
- 2 counts of kidnapping while committing a felony
- 2 counts of kidnapping/false imprisonment of an adult
- 2 counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon
- 2 counts of aggravated child abuse
- abuse of a dead human body
- altering/destroying/concealing evidence
- grand theft
- criminal mischief of over $1,000
- possession of a weapon/ammunition by a convicted felon
