A shooting on October 5, 2023, in Edgewater, Florida, left 39-year-old John G. Ellis dead. The incident occurred about 9:30 p.m. in a wooded area near the 1500 block of Juniper Drive, close to 15th Street, described by police as a make-shift transient camp. Officers found three people shot; Ellis was pronounced dead at the scene and two other victims were taken to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The Edgewater Police Department arrested two people the following day, October 6. Walter F. Russell, 45, is charged with first-degree murder and other felonies, and his fiancée, Laura A. Carter, 42, is charged as principal to first-degree murder. Investigators described the incident as isolated and said it did not pose an imminent danger to the public. The motive has not been disclosed. A neighbor, Carol Mehalko, said the victims had asked for help and that she gave one of them a towel to try to stop the bleeding.

Anyone with information about the shooting is urged to contact the Edgewater Police Department.