Police have made an arrest in two murders on Tallahassee’s south side. The latest victim was found last Saturday.
The suspect made his first court appearance Tuesday morning. 54-year-old Philip Ford is being held without bond.
“Based on our investigation, Philip Ford has been charged with two counts of first degree murder for beating and strangling his two victims to death,” said TPD Chief Michael DeLeo in an announcement on Facebook Live.
The murders happened more than a month apart. A woman was found dead in a field off West Orange Avenue last month, and the second victim was found near the Capital City Country Club near Magnolia and Dantzler.
“They both did engage in some certain risky lifestyles that unfortunately did create a higher element of risk to them than many other people in our community,” DeLeo said, “but that certainly does not justify his actions or the way that they were treated.”
The Tallahassee Democrat reports Ford is a registered sex offender with a lengthy and violent criminal history.
DeLeo says investigators believe Ford acted alone, and they are concerned about the potential for more victims. They’re checking missing person cases locally and in other jurisdictions.
