Florida Woman Accused of Murdering Her Two Ex-Husbands on Same Day

Screenshot via Bradenton Herald.

December 17 was allegedly a very busy day for Susan Erica Avalon, a 51-year-old resident of Citrus County, Florida. Police say she murdered not one, but two of her ex-husbands.

The sordid tale begins last Wednesday in Bradenton, a city about 50 miles south of Tampa, where police responded to calls about a shooting in a residential neighborhood and found a 54-year-old man suffering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen, reported the Bradenton Herald.

The man, whose name has been withheld in compliance with Florida law protecting the identities of crime victims, was transported to a local hospital, where he died later that evening. He was able to briefly speak with police and when asked who could have shot him, he answered “possibly my ex-wife.”

According to investigators, the shooter first went to a nearby Panera Bread and stole an order intended for delivery, apparently as a ruse to get the victim to open the door. The victim’s 15-year-old daughter was home at the time, and did not see the shooting but heard the shots and told police she saw a silver Honda Odyssey minivan being driven away by someone wearing a surgical mask and a gray sweatshirt.

Avalon owns a silver Honda Odyssey.

Manatee County Sheriff’s Office detectives tracked the minivan traveling towards Citrus County using license plate reader technology, and went to Avalon’s home, the Herald reported.

When police arrived at Avalon’s residence, they saw her coming outside carrying bleach and cleaning rags, which they say were to destroy evidence, as they observed her get into the Odyssey and start wiping down the interior.

The detectives approached Avalon to question her, saying they wanted to speak to her about her ex-husband, reported local NBC affiliate WESH.

“Which one? she replied.

At that point, police became concerned about the well-being of this second ex, a Tampa resident, reported WESH. The MCSO cops called the Tampa Police Department, who sent officers to the second ex’s home and got no answer. The police went around the house and found damage to the rear door, entered and found him inside, dead from multiple gunshot wounds.

In a press conference, Manatee County Sheriff Rick Wells remarked how “it doesn’t get any more brazen than this,” with the murder happening in broad daylight in “a very active neighborhood” with lots of people around.

The sheriff described how Avalon’s live-in boyfriend told them that Avalon had returned home wearing the gray sweatshirt and got right in the shower with her clothes on. She didn’t say anything about the murders, the boyfriend told police, but the day before she had told him that if anything happened to her, she loves him and wanted him to know that, comments he found to be out of character for her.

Wells said that Avalon had been charged with second-degree homicide for the Manatee County crime and that the MCSO would be “seeking the death penalty,” working with the state attorney to convene a grand jury to pursue first-degree murder charges “to see that happens,” as well as cooperating with the authorities in Tampa on the other murder case.

Both investigations are still active and a motive has not yet been determined, but Wells did say that Avalon owed the Bradenton victim “about $4,000 in back child support” and was potentially facing suspension of her driver’s license soon if she did not pay.