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Police Release Beach Photo in Hunt for Suspect in Vero Beach Double Killing

The image could place Jesse Scott Ellis at South Beach Park after Tuesday’s shootings.

Overview

  • Investigators, who say the killings happened Tuesday around 7 a.m., released a beach photo they think may show 64-year-old Jesse Scott Ellis.
  • Ellis is wanted on two counts of first-degree murder, and police urged tips and asked him to turn himself in.
  • Security video shows Stacie Ellis Mason getting into coworker Danny Ooley’s truck at the library before a gunman arrived and fired an AR-15-style rifle.
  • Officers later found a vehicle tied to Ellis at South Beach Park, and first responders say a fully clothed man swam about 900 yards out and gave a false name.
  • Police called the case a crime of passion and said the victims were romantically involved, though Ooley’s mother disputes that account, and the county is offering counseling to coworkers.