Polk County Sheriff’s Phone# 863-298-6200
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Cold Case Homicides
From June 2008 until June 2019, the Polk County Sheriff's Office Homicide Unit maintained a 100% clearance rate on all homicides investigated within the PCSO jurisdiction.
The two most recent unsolved homicides - those of Shay Collins in June 2019 and Alphonsa Payne in May 2020 - are listed here along with all other unsolved homicides back to 1961.
Our Cold Case Unit is dedicated to solving these homicides and bringing justice to these victims' families.
Can you help? Click the links below to view information about unsolved Polk County Homicides. Photos are included if available. If you have any information concerning an unsolved homicide, please contact the Bureau of Criminal Investigations at 863-298-6379 or send an email to coldcase@polksheriff.org.
Or to remain anonymous and be eligible for a CASH REWARD contact Heartland Crime Stoppers at 1-800-226-TIPS (8477). Anonymity is guaranteed!
Name
Description
On May 7, 1986, 22-year-old Ronette Peterson was found in a pit located near Combee Road in Lakeland... More Info
On March 31, 1974, 21-year-old Rose Oliver was found in an orange grove in Lake Wales. ... More Info
36-year-old Sandra L. Johnson was last seen on April 20, 1989, at her place of employment in Bartow. ... More Info
On August 25, 1988, 25-year-old Sandra Shiver was found deceased in Auburndale. ... More Info
On June 28, 2019, Shay Collins succumbed to gunshots wounds - she was shot the night before in Dunde... More Info
On April 8, 1973, 59-year-old Tan Johnson Brown, AKA Brownell Johnson, was found in his car in Lakel... More Info
On November 19, 1980, between 4:30 a.m. and 5:21 a.m., 50-year-old Thomas Craft was shot to death wh... More Info
On October 10, 1973, 27-year-old Valorie Lowman’s skeletal remains were discovered in a pit near an ... More Info
On August 4, 1992, 34-year-old Vann Catherine Lee was found by a road crew on the north side of Deen... More Info
On December 23, 1981, 37-year-old Vincent Bartley was shot to death at a bar in Winter Haven. ... More Info
On October 23, 1975, between 10:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., housewife 27-year-old Vivian Patricia Kendric... More Info
On October 2, 1994, 69-year-old William “Bubblegum” Johnson was found stabbed to death in Lakeland. ... More Info
45-year-old Willie Lee Robinson was found dead in the front seat of his 1967 blue Buick Skylark in L... More Info
On October 12, 2007, 38-year-old Yascara “Jackie” Yturradle’s remains were found in Lakeland. ... More Info
On September 29, 2007, 8-week-old Zachary Durham’s father found him unresponsive. His cause of death... More Info