Do you know who murdered 84 year old Essie Camps in 1990? Essie Camps, an 84-year-old resident of Gainesville, Florida, was murdered on February 28, 1990. His body was found in his home, located in East Gainesville, where he had been stabbed multiple times. Camps was a prominent community member, known for his landscaping business and his involvement as a choir leader at the Mount Olive Primitive Baptist Church. On the day of the incident, he was attacked while sitting in his recliner, and his body was discovered later that afternoon by his grandson.
For nearly three decades, the case remained unsolved, though police had long suspected a link to Terry Lee Mack, who was already serving a life sentence for a separate murder committed in 1991. In late 2019, Mack confessed to the killing of Essie Camps during an interview with Gainesville Police and State Attorney investigators. He admitted to repeatedly stabbing Camps, a person he knew well and was frequently allowed into the home. His confession finally connected the dots in a case that had puzzled the community for years.
The confession brought some closure to the cold case, which had remained an open investigation by Gainesville authorities. Both the similarity in the nature of the attack and Mack's known association with the Camps family had pointed investigators towards him, but it wasn't until his direct confession in 2019 that formal charges were made. Mack's admission has been a critical step in helping provide justice for Essie Camps and his family, who had waited years for answers regarding the brutal attack.
