Person of interest in death of couple has decades-long criminal history

MOUNT DORA, Fla. – A Georgia woman who police believe is connected to the murder of an elderly Mount Dora couple has a criminal history spanning back decades.  

Vickie Lynn Williams, 50, of Savannah, Georgia, was arrested out-of-state after she was found driving a car belonging to Darryl Getman, 83, and Sharon Getman, 80, who were both killed inside their Mount Dora retirement home. Williams was taken into custody on a charge of vehicle theft when Savannah Police recognized the lime green Kia she was driving at an Amtrak Station. She is being held in the Chatham County Sheriff’s Office awaiting extradition to Florida.

“Of course I know that car, because I’ve seen them drive that car,” said family friend Carole Doxater. “It was kind of upsetting seeing this person drive their car.”

William’s was arrested 24 times through 2022 in Ohio on a variety of misdemeanors and felonies including felony assault, criminal trespassing, theft, robbery, receiving stolen property, and domestic violence. She was arrested twice in 2016 in South Carolina on grand larceny charges. Her case in South Carolina is still pending.

FOX35 spoke with Williams’ ex-husband Jerome over the phone.

Jerome said he hasn’t seen Williams in months. He has restraining orders against her to stay away from him and their two boys. He also said in a text, “She needs help bad. Sorry for those elderly people. Send my condolences to their family.”

Jerome told FOX 35 about another domestic violence incident just a few months ago between Williams and his uncle in Georgia. He was upset police didn’t arrest her then. He feels if they had, maybe none of this would have happened.

Mount Dora Interim Police Chief Mike Gibson told reporters on Tuesday that a person of interest had been taken into custody, possibly linked to the killings of Darryl and Sharon Getman, who were found dead last weekend at their home within the gated Waterman Village retirement community.

“They were enjoying their ‘golden years’ of retirement, something that we all kind of look forward to I think. However, in this case, the ‘golden years’ of Darryl and Sharon were tragically cut short by a ruthless and senseless double homicide,” Gibson said.

Saying he was “confident” in the investigation, Gibson on Tuesday said police and state prosecutors had already begun the process to have Williams extradited back to Florida, which will take time.

On Dec 30, a “suspicious woman” was escorted out of the Lakeside of Waterman Village property around 3 p.m. About an hour later the same woman was seen again on a security camera at the back of the complex. Around 10:58 p.m., police said the same woman entered facility a third time though the big tower at the front of the complex. That’s when she knocked on a door and asked a tenant to use the shower. It wasn’t until a panicked resident hit her alarm that security and police responded. The person of interest got away.

On Dec. 31 around 2:02 a.m., the couple’s car was seen leaving the complex. Around 2:12 a.m., the suspicious woman came back to the complex a fifth time and was told to leave by security. Around 4 p.m., the couple was found dead by Mount Dora police.