TAVARES, Florida—A man already in the Lake County Jail for moving a man’s body and covering it with a sheet and couch cushions has been charged in his death, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Jesse “Cracker” Franklin Hill, 42, was arrested May 27 on a charge of tampering with evidence and is now facing a manslaughter charge, in the death of his roommate, Ernie Wayne Wilburn, 44, in Altoona in May.
On May 4, Hill made two “cryptic” emergency calls to the Lake County Sheriff’s Office and deputies responded to 19331 East Altoona Road and found Wilburn covered in a sheet with cushions stacked on top of him and a puncture wound in his left rib area, according to the affidavit. LCSO also found a bloodstain indicating he was moved.
When LCSO read a search warrant for the property aloud, Hill reportedly asked if a specific area to the west side of the house was included, and he was informed it was; a Ruger .22 high-velocity air rifle was found in the same area.
An autopsy of Wilburn later found a .22 caliber pellet-style projectile in his lung, along with a significant blood clot in his chest cavity that indicated Wilburn “suffered for a significant time prior to his death,” the affidavit states.
Hill fled the residence during the investigation, according to the affidavit, later telling multiple sources he was “on the run” and “wanted for murder.”
LCSO caught up to Hill at a home in Eustis May 27 and he was arrested for tampering with evidence. He was held at the Lake County Jail on no bond until he was charged with manslaughter Friday; he is still being held on no bond on both charges.
A witness told LCSO Hill shot Wilburn with the air rifle because he was annoyed with him. The witness said Wilburn was outside a window yelling because he did not have a key and Hill shot him through the window. Hill told witnesses he did not believe the pellet gun would kill Wilburn, he just wanted him to go away.
