LEESBURG, Fla. — A 23-year-old woman who was shot and killed while allegedly trying to enter a stranger’s home early Tuesday has been identified, and police say evidence collected at the scene was consistent with the homeowner’s account of the shooting.
Ananda Conley of Leesburg was identified by Leesburg Police Department Wednesday afternoon.
Conley lived approximately two to three blocks from the home in the 1600 block of Crest Avenue where she was killed. The current residents moved into the home in May and did not know Conley, Lt. Shannon Walsh said.
According to Conley’s friend and roommate, Conley had been drinking and left her home angry following a personal situation that police are not disclosing.
LPD responded to the Crest Avenue home shortly before 4:45 a.m. Tuesday, minutes after receiving a 911 call reporting someone trying to break into the home, Walsh told Inside Lake. The identities of 911 callers are not public record. Officers rendered aid to Conley, who was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The resident told detectives he repeatedly instructed Conley to leave and warned her he was armed. According to police, he said Conley continued trying to enter his home through a carport door prompting him to fire a handgun through the door, breaking a window.
Conley then reached through the broken window in an attempt to open the door from inside, according to the resident’s account, and he fired a second time, striking her.
Police said Wednesday that investigators found cuts on Conley’s arm consistent with reaching through broken door glass. Blood was also discovered on the inside of the door and is believed to be Conley’s, but testing is still needed for confirmation, Walsh said.
“The evidence we currently have is consistent with the statement provided by the Crest Avenue resident who fired the shots that took her life,” Walsh said.
The resident has been fully cooperative with investigators, Walsh said.
Detectives are awaiting toxicology results and other findings from the Medical Examiner’s Office.
“We will continue to work with the State Attorney’s Office to ensure a full and complete investigation is conducted for justice, and for Ms. Conley’s family and friends,” Walsh said.
