Investigators say that when they captured Marine veteran Bryan Riley outside the Lakeland, Florida, home where he allegedly killed a couple, their 3-month-old …
Investigators say that when they captured Marine veteran Bryan Riley outside the Lakeland, Florida, home where he allegedly killed a couple, their 3-month-old son, and the boy’s grandmother, he told them, “You know why I did this.” But they say they don’t and, in fact, may never know why Riley launched an attack against a family he had no known connection with, except that he may have been mentally ill. Riley’s girlfriend told investigators that he had been saying he could communicate directly with God. “The big question that all of us has is, ‘Why?’” local prosecutor Brian Haas said after Sunday’s slayings. “We will not know today or maybe ever.” Riley,33, is being held without bond after Sunday’s massacre on four counts of first-degree murder. During his first court appearance Monday, he said he intended to hire a lawyer but a public defender was appointed to represent him until he does. Riley, who served as a sharpshooter in Iraq and Afghanistan, surrendered Sunday morning after a furious gun battle with authorities. After it was over, a deputy rushed into the home and rescued an 11-year-old girl, who was still conscious despite being shot seven times. She was in stable condition on Tuesday morning, the sheriff’s office said. According to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, Riley told interrogators that the victims “begged for their lives, and I killed them anyway.” ”He is evil in the flesh,” Judd said. “Just because you have mental health issues, does not mean you are not criminally liable.” Judd identified Justice Gleason,40, as one of the victims. Citing a state privacy law, Judd only identified the other victims as a 33-year-old woman, her infant son, and the boy’s 62-year-old grandmother.
