Ransacked home in Zephyrhills might be linked to grisly homicide - FL USA

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By Howard Altman | The Tampa Tribune
and Lisa A. Davis | The Tampa Tribune
Published: May 21, 2010

ZEPHYRHILLS - The man who wrote many of the popular "Thundercats'' animated cartoons of the early 1980s is missing from his Zephyrhills home in an unusual – and possibly grisly - case.

Police would say only that comics artist Stephen J. Perry, 56, James Davis, 46, and Roxanne Davis, 49, vanished from the house they shared on 38046 Eighth Ave. and that the home appears to have been ransacked.

Roxanne Davis was arrested by Pasco County sheriff's deputies at about 7:45 p.m. Friday and charged with violating her probation on a grand theft charge. She was being held without bond at the Land O'Lakes detention center.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement says the agency has been called to assist the Zephyrhills Police Department with an apparent homicide in the city limits. Saying the information must come from the city's police department, an FDLE spokesman could not say whether the homicide was related to the missing persons case.

The city's mayor, Cliff McDuffie, thinks it is. He said a piece of someone's body – an arm -- and Perry's van were found in Hillsborough County.

"When they located the van, they tracked it back to Zephyrhills," McDuffie said. "When the police got there, it was a mess."

"I assume it is the same investigation," McDuffie said. "I assume it is a homicide."

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Debbie Carter said the agency is assisting Zephyrhills police on a case but would not elaborate.

Those who live near the green and cream-colored house where the trio disappeared say it's obvious police are investigating something big.

Neighbors say police for three days roped off the road for a block east of the Eighth Avenue and Third Street intersection while they investigated.

Teresa Doty, 39, who lives down the street with her mother and several other relatives, asked police what happened down the street.

"That's the thing that upset me. They won't tell us nothing," she said. "I'm nervous."

Doty said officers told her she'd find out what happened from the media.

"They should at least let the neighbors know," Doty said. "I don't want to be the next victim down the street."

One thing Doty said she knows for sure: "Something really bad happened down there."

Zephyrhills police on Friday were revealing little about their investigation.

"Right now, we're very concerned" about the welfare of the missing people, said Capt. Robert McKinney.

He said police were not saying much to avoid compromising the investigation. Though it's common practice for police not to release specific details about crime, especially homicides, it's unusual to withhold whether a homicide has occurred or is suspected to have occurred.

Jancie Holcy, 44, said a lot of children play in the area.

"There could be a serial killer around here and we wouldn't know," she said.

Perry is well-known in the comic-book world. In addition to his work on "Thundercats" for television, he worked for Marvel Comics on the New Universe's Psi-Force Bizarre Adventures and Archie Goodwin's Epic Division, according to a March 12 story by the Orlando Sentinel.

Perry had been in Orlando at a comic books convention and to promote The Hero Initiative, a non-profit organization that helps comic-book writers and artists who have fallen on hard times. The initiative helped Perry when he was suffering from bladder cancer and couldn't pay his medical bills; the organization's website features a prominently featured testimonial from Perry.

Perry was described as 6 feet, 2 inches tall and weighing 160 pounds. James Davis was described as 5 feet, 10 inches tall and weighing 170 to 180 pounds with facial stubble or a beard.

Anyone who has seen Perry or James Davis is asked to call the Zephyrhills Police Department at (813) 780-0050.

Reporter Howard Altman can be reached at (813) 259-7629.

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LAST UPDATED: May 21, 2010
by myself and Caty.