PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. (TCN) — A 39-year-old man is in custody and has been charged with second-degree murder after police allege he killed an elderly woman in a hotel room.
According to the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, an employee at the Holiday Inn Express in St. Petersburg, Florida, called the police after finding a dead body in a room. Emma Mullins, 76, was on the floor under a pile of sheets and blankets. Furniture in the room was overturned and there was broken glass throughout. Mullins had visible signs of trauma and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Authorities learned that Mullins had gotten into an altercation with Paul Stottler. When they reviewed surveillance footage from the hotel, they saw Stottler allegedly enter the room with Mullins. He allegedly left alone a few hours later, carrying bags to the dumpster, according to the sheriff’s office. Inside the dumpster, authorities found documents with Mullins’ name on them in an ice bucket along with bloodstained bedding and clothing.
Stottler was charged with second-degree murder and booked into jail on June 26, according to The Tampa Bay Beacons. The New York Post reports that the relationship between the two is unclear.
Per the Beacons, Stottler has a criminal history that includes two years in prison from 2022 to 2024 for burglary and battery. Other past charges in Pinellas County, Florida, include grand theft, disorderly conduct, criminal mischief, and drug possession.
The investigation is ongoing.
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