The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office arrested a suspect after he confessed to shooting and killing an elderly family member.
On October 24, 2022, at 10:15 p.m. HCSO received a phone call from Robert Curtis Ashcraft, 49. He said that he shot a relative, and wanted to turn himself in.
Ashcraft told the dispatcher that he was unarmed on the front porch waiting for deputies to arrive. The dispatcher remained on the phone with the suspect until Deputies arrived.
Deputies responded to Wiggins Road in Gibsonton, upon arrival they found the victim lying on the bed with a gunshot wound to her head. Ashcraft was taken into custody without incident and faces charges of premeditated 1st degree murder and possession of a firearm by a felon.
"We are grateful our dispatcher was able to keep the suspect calm, and on the phone until our deputies arrived to make an arrest," said Sheriff Chad Chronister. "This is a horrible situation, and I'm saddened by this senseless tragedy."