Polk deputies: Man accused of killing 2 in Winter Haven has been arrested

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. (FOX 13) - The man accused of killing two people in Winter Haven, and possibly more outside the area, was finally arrested after Polk County deputies cornered him inside a home. 

The suspect, 35-year-old Stanley Eric Mossburg, also known as “Woo Woo,” was taken into custody just after 5 a.m. Tuesday by the sheriff’s office SWAT team. Officials said he was barricaded in a home on Avenue C NE near 16th Street NE. They said he was alone, and the home belonged to his “acquaintance.” 

Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said Mossburg was wanted for killing a man and leaving him at a laundromat in Greene County, Tennessee earlier this month. Judd said he headed to Spartanville, South Carolina after that, and his sister bought him a bus ticket to Orlando. Judd said Mossburg pawned property at a pawn shop in Auburndale. 

Deputies said he killed a man and woman, held another man hostage, and claimed to have killed others – but Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said that was not confirmed.

Sheriff Judd said it appears his crime spree in Polk County started Sunday night around 10:30 p.m., when a man came home to find his two roommates, a male and female, murdered by Mossburg, who was still inside the home.

Mossburg allegedly told the man he would not be harmed because God told him not to. However, Judd said Mossburg held the man hostage until around noon Monday. He allegedly told the man he killed as many as eight people, Judd said, but detectives haven’t confirmed any additional murders. 

Mossburg then left in the victim's car, a black Hyundai, which was gone from the scene, but then showed up about a block away as deputies investigated the deaths.

 

 

By 4 a.m., deputies said SWAT team members maintained a perimeter for most of the night in the area of 15th Street NE through 17th Street NE in Winter Haven. 

They said they believed Mossburg was inside the perimeter, and they were right. He was taken into custody about an hour later, but his condition was unknown. Information on the events leading up to his arrest were not provided. 

Officials said additional information will be provided later Tuesday morning.