BROOKSVILLE – Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis held a press conference Tuesday giving out details and updates on three recent homicide cases.
The first case involves an intense house fire that killed one person and four dogs on Jan. 20 around 1:20 a.m. The eventual suspect in the case, Briauna Amann, called the Sheriff’s Office using the victim’s phone, saying she was lost in the woods. She was found in a homeless camp in Marion County and later admitted to starting the fire. Amann was charged with first-degree murder, arson and grand theft.
“It took about 90 minutes for fire-rescue to extinguish the fire,” said Nienhuis. “Pasco Sheriff’s Office cadaver dogs were called in, and we did unfortunately locate human remains in the structure.”
Arrest closes Feb. 11 stabbing case
The next case involves a stabbing that took place because of an argument at a homeless camp. Regina Ritter was taken into custody and investigated, revealing she had a warrant for civil arrest due to failure to pay child support out of Citrus County. She was also charged with manslaughter.
“Detectives started conducting a search of Ritter’s bag incident to that arrest,” said Nienhuis, “and located a bloody knife that we believe was used in the stabbing.”
The victim was transferred to a trauma center and was pronounced dead the next morning.
Detectives making headway in teen’s shooting
The investigation continues and improves for the shooting of a 17-year-old girl in Brooksville on Feb. 7 at 11:30 p.m. She was one of the two people who were shot and died. Detectives are still working on the case and learning more about the details, the sheriff said. They have interviewed at least 75-80 people about it. The sheriff implored the public not to spread rumors or do something risky regarding a possible suspect.
“Also when you’re talking about a 17-year-old victim, it’s very easy for passions to run high. We want to make sure that people don’t ever attempt to take the law into their own hands,” said Nienhuis.
The victim has been memorialized in social media.
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