The Unsolved Double Homicide of Shirley Whitten and Roger Higgins: A 50-Year-Old Mystery in Wildwood's Oak Grove Cemetery

A Tragic Discovery in Oak Grove Cemetery

On the morning of February 22, 1972, the tranquil Oak Grove Cemetery, located approximately two miles southeast of Wildwood, Florida, became the scene of a gruesome discovery. At around 8:00 A.M., a passerby reported finding two bodies lying near a dark blue Chevrolet Bel Air with all four tires slashed. The victims were identified as 19-year-old Shirley Elizabeth Whitten from nearby Coleman and 26-year-old Roger Dale Higgins, a resident of Fort Lauderdale. Whitten was employed as a clerk at the Union 76 Truck Stop in Wildwood, while Higgins worked as a lumper for a South Florida trucking company.

The Events Leading Up to the Murders

Investigations revealed that Whitten and Higgins met at the Union 76 Truck Stop, where Whitten worked. Higgins, having recently accepted a job as a laborer for a moving company, had stopped at the truck stop with his employer to rest. The two struck up a conversation over coffee, and at some point during the night, they left together in Whitten's car. Their destination was the secluded Oak Grove Cemetery, a location known for its isolation and the interment of 31 Confederate veterans among local residents.

The Brutal Nature of the Crime

Autopsy reports indicated that both victims suffered multiple stab wounds inflicted by a small pocketknife. Whitten sustained 33 stab wounds, including six to the chest, with fatal injuries to her lungs and aorta. Higgins endured 34 stab wounds, seven to the chest, with a punctured right lung leading to his death. Defensive wounds on Higgins' fingers suggested he attempted to fend off the attacker. The assailant's apparent rage extended beyond the victims, as evidenced by the slashing of all four tires on Whitten's vehicle.

Early Investigative Efforts and Theories

Sumter County Sheriff Fred Roesel, recognizing the severity of the crime, sought assistance from the Florida Criminal Investigation Department. Detectives followed a trail of blood from the crime scene to the cemetery's entrance, approximately 100 feet away, which then circled back to the bodies. The car keys were missing, and unidentified fingerprints were found on the vehicle. Tire tracks nearby suggested another vehicle had left the scene at high speed. Investigators posited that the killer might have been a local individual obsessed with Whitten, possibly stalking her and reacting violently upon seeing her with Higgins. ...Read More

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