New details in Mount Dora killings: Victims stabbed; killer tried to clean scene

MOUNT DORA – Sharon and Darryl Getman were stabbed to death in their Waterman Village home, and several clues link suspect Vickie Lynn Williams, 50, to the crime, according to newly released court papers.

The probable cause affidavit charging Williams with two counts of first-degree murder states that security personnel at the retirement community called police on Dec. 31 after discovering a grisly, bloody scene at 161 Lake Margaret Circle.

Darryl Getman, 83, had “severe head and facial trauma, as well as a large butcher-style knife with a yellow handle stuck up to the hilt in his abdomen,” the affidavit states.

Previous coverage: The latest on the Mount Dora slayings | Suspect back in Lake County, held without bail

Previous coverage: Person of interest in Mount Dora homicides in custody in Savannah, Georgia

The first story: Police call deaths of elderly Mount Dora couple 'suspicious in nature'

Sharon Getman, 80, was also lying in the foyer of the apartment. “She had head trauma and a large amount of blood from her abdomen….”  There were white towels near her body, “as if someone attempted to render aid or clean up.”

A woman’s bloody footprints were tracked throughout the home, some with bare feet. They had not been made by Mrs. Getman, the report said.

Some of the prints were in the garage near the spot where the couple’s 2019 Kia Soul had been stolen.

A neighbor, worried because the Getmans’ garage door was open, called security. Security staffers opened the door to the apartment with a set of master keys, then called police. Lake County Sheriff’s crime scene investigators also were called.

Williams was arrested in Savannah, Georgia, thanks to a be-on-the-lookout bulletin and license plate reader, which picked up the trail at two places in South Carolina, and finally in Savannah. Waterman Village security video shows the car leaving the complex at 2:02 a.m. on Dec. 31.

Questioned by detectives, Williams said she was homeless and claimed she was given the car to sleep in by a friend.

A resident at Waterman Village said a woman knocked on her door on Dec. 30 in the afternoon asking if she could take a shower and charge her phone. When she began asking the woman if she had had a husband, the woman became alarmed and hit a security panic button.

The intruder ran out, snatching the couple’s keys. Police and security were called. That was a 3 p.m. She returned at 4 p.m. and was escorted off the property by security.

At 10:40 p.m., she walked up to the security gate, looked at a clipboard, and then walked to a patio area.

What evidence is cited in the case against Williams?

Among the clues that began piling up against Williams were two purses “in plain view” inside the car. One was marked with a Georgia Tech logo, and there was a coffee mug with brown stains that appeared to be dried blood. She claimed both purses were hers.

Also discovered was a pair of white Puma “slides” similar to ones that appear on Waterman Village surveillance video of an “unknown black female walking around the complex.”

There was also a cellphone in the car, which she claimed was hers. She later said hers had been stolen in Savannah.

She told investigators she had not been in Florida for two years. She has a Florida driver’s license.

Inside the Getmans’ apartment, there is evidence the killer tried to clean up in the bathroom. Crime scene investigators found a washcloth with blood stains “and what appeared to be black, tight, curly hairs.” Sharon Getman had straight, gray hair.

Even more damning was a set of latent palm prints that match Williams, according to the affidavit.

At first, police suspected a Eustis woman, but she was eliminated by cellphone tower pings and other evidence.

Williams identified herself to police as “Victoreyah Coffee.” She reportedly has several aliases. Savannah arrest records listed a husband as Roman Coffee, but Coffee told the Daily Commercial he no longer had contact with her. He said they had a child together.

Detectives called police in Canton, Ohio. Police there contacted a woman named Favor Williams, who identified Vickie Williams from photographs as her daughter. Frederick Williams at the address identified Williams as his mother.

Vickie Williams had her first appearance Saturday before Lake County Judge Emily Curington, who refused to set bail. She ordered the Public Defender’s Office to represent her, but on Tuesday, the court clerk sent Williams a letter saying she was not eligible for free legal assistance because she listed $12,000 equity in a vehicle on her financial affidavit.

The victims' son and daughter, Anthony and Brittany Getman, issued a statement saying they were “stunned, devastated and heart-broken by the horrific murder of our parents.”

The couple had lived in Mount Dora for 20 years, where they were active and contributed to area charities.

There is a candlelight vigil at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Lakeside Grad Portico, 301 Lake Margaret Circle.

Williams’ next court date is set for Jan. 30. Meanwhile, prosecutors, if they intend to seek first-degree murder charges, will seek a grand jury indictment.

This article originally appeared on Daily Commercial: New details emerge in grisly deaths of Mount Dora retirees