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Inset: Toby White (Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office). Background: Stabbing victim Lucy Reed’s property (WEAR/YouTube).
An elderly woman in Florida welcomed a man onto her property and into her home to help him “get back on his feet,” only to be murdered by the 31-year-old in front of her husband “without any provocation,” police officials say.
“I did what you wanted,” said Toby White, of Santa Rosa County, after stabbing 77-year-old victim Lucy Reed multiple times in the body and head with a butcher knife, according to the arrest report filed by the Santa Rosa County Sheriff’s Office, which was obtained by the local ABC affiliate WEAR this week.
“The husband of the victim said when he asked him why did you do that, (White) said God told him to,” Sheriff Bob Johnson told WEAR. “That was his answer.”
The knife attack happened on Jan. 20 in the 5200-block of Old Oak Road in Milton, according to police. Reed and her husband, who has not been publicly named by authorities or media, were sitting in their living room watching TV when White allegedly entered the house and started hacking away at Reed.
“I can’t imagine what it’s like seeing your wife stabbed, pretty much to death, in front of you,” Johnson said.
According to his arrest report, White had come into contact with Reed and her husband through a mutual friend and was living in a camper on their property for several months. He allegedly had access to Reed’s house and was allowed to go in and out, so long as she or her husband were home, WEAR reports.
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“You don’t know who to trust anymore,” a neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous, told the station. “I used to see him walking up and down the road, I didn’t know anything was wrong with him. You never know.”
After White fled from the scene, Reed’s husband wrapped her up in a blanket and drove her to Santa Rosa Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.
White was caught following two separate police pursuits in Alachua County and Suwannee County, according to reports, with the first stemming from a stolen vehicle case.
Background: Toby White being apprehended by authorities in Suwannee County, Florida (WEAR/YouTube). Inset: Toby White in police custody (Suwannee County Sheriff’s Office/WEAR/YouTube).
“Somebody pursued him, but they didn’t know it was a murder suspect at the time,” Johnson explained. “So they called off the pursuit. One thing leads to another, we get a hold of them down there and say, ‘Hey, he’s a murder suspect.’”
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Authorities in Suwannee County caught up with White, who has been arrested at least seven times in the past, and eventually caught him following a crash and foot pursuit in the woods, Johnson said.
White was still locked up in Suwannee County on Wednesday as awaits extradition to Santa Rosa County for Reed’s murder, according to jail records. His last arrest was for a probation violation in October 2024. He was released from jail for that arrest less than two weeks before killing Reed, according to WEAR.