Officials Seek Motive in Massacre of Best Friends at Florida Lake, Offer Reward

Police investigate a triple homicide near Lake Streety, Fla., on July 18, 2020. (Courtesy of Polk County Sheriff's Office)

A $30,000 reward is being offered in the slaying of three best friends during a fishing trip in Florida, as officials said they are looking for a motive.

“This does not look like a drug deal gone bad,” Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said at a press conference, noting that the murders do not appear to be a “domestic event.”

“We don’t know the reason at this stage in the investigation,” he told reporters on Monday, adding that his office still does not “know why the murder occurred.”

Damion Tillman, 23, Brandon Rollins, 27, and Keven Springfield, 30, were found dead on the night of July 17 in Lake Street near Frostproof, which is about 70 miles south of Orlando.

“When you look at the crime scene and you look at what we saw it gives us reason to believe that it was more than one suspect,” Judd added.

The father of Rollins, Cyril Rollins, discovered the three men, according to Judd.

In an earlier interview, the sheriff told WCPV that the three men may have been “boxed in” by vehicles.

“We don’t know at this point...if someone flagged them down and boxed them up in the middle of the road,” he said. “We don’t know what happened...whether or not they met up with some suspects who didn’t like the fact that they were talking in the road.”

He added: “Whether somebody boxed them off and stopped them. It was just a terrible event. Think about it - three best friends are doing what they like to do best and that’s to go fishing. And this is way out in the county.”

Judd said that regarding the suspects, “we don’t believe they are out looking for people but we also know for whatever reason that somebody else crosses their path and makes them mad they have nothing more to lose.”