Suspect in Sims murders posts musings on internet
A man described as the main suspect in the 50-year-old investigation into the Sims murders has been commenting prolifically online recently, apparently contradicting the story he first told police.
A memo submitted to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement by former Assistant State Attorney Jeremy Mutz, who was fired Monday, say the man’s writings “contradicts his prior accounts, contradicts his girlfriend’s statements and makes statements that put him in conflict with hard evidence.”
The memo outlines information that may clear several longtime suspects and points to a main suspect. That man's name and the website where the recent comments can be found are redacted from the memo.
The investigation into the Oct. 22, 1966, murders of Robert and Helen Sims and their 12-year-old daughter, Joy, is still active. The family was bound, shot and stabbed to death in their home on Muriel Court, off Gibbs Drive.
Many in the city were attending the Mississippi State-FSU football game; the bodies were discovered by another Sims daughter, who came home after a babysitting job.
Mutz was fired for what State Attorney Willie Meggs says was an inappropriate use of his position to gain information to write a book about the murders and his contact with potential witnesses and FDLE. Mutz denied working on a book about the shocking crime.
Prosecutor fired over Sims murders investigation
Mutz has had his run-ins with State Attorney’s higher ups in the past. In 2011, he was demoted from handling DUI cases when his then fiancé received lenient treatment, avoiding jail time for two back-to-back DUIs.
On Tuesday, Meggs and Leon County Sheriff Mike Wood said physical evidence will likely be the link that could solve the decades-old case. That evidence has been submitted to an FDLE lab for forensic testing. Meggs said progress is being made in the case.
The witness described in Mutz’s memo says the man in online postings has developed additional theories. The man, the memo says, will appear on camera for a Florida State University film students' documentary on the murders set to be released later this summer.
Contact Karl Etters at ketters@tallahassee.com or @KarlEtters on Twitter.