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Brandon Woman Accused of Murdering North Carolina Man

Melissa McNutt | Tampa Police | Arrests

He was found in a Hyde Park neighborhood suffering from gunshot and stab wounds.

TAMPA – A Brandon woman has been arrested in connection with the Sept. 30 slaying of a North Carolina man, according to the Tampa Police Department.

Melissa McNutt, 25, of Brandon, was charged with one count each of armed robbery and first degree murder of Justin Vancleff Heilig, 34, of Salisbury, NC.

Officers were called to the 600 block of S Willow Avenue on Sept. 30 shortly before 4:30 a.m. for a report that a man was bleeding and lying on a front porch. Mr. Heilig had suffered gunshot and stab wounds.
He was taken to a local hospital where he died.

Tampa Homicide detectives found a bloody knife and a Pandora bracelet near the crime scene at E Swann Street and S Willow Avenue. During the investigation, they discovered that Mr. Heilig had been with McNutt the night he was murdered. The two had met each other that night in Ybor City.

Mr. Heilig was spotted getting in the passenger seat of McMutt’s 2015 Black Nissan Altima. Police said the vehicle matched the description of a dark-colored sedan that was seen on surveillance footage leaving the area after neighbors heard gunshots near S Willow Avenue. DNA found on the Pandora bracelet also placed McNutt at the scene of the murder.

The investigation into Mr. Heilig’s death is ongoing.

Anyone with information is asked to provide Crime Stoppers with anonymous tips in order to be eligible for a cash reward of up to $3,000.

Tampa Police | Crime | Murder | Arrests | Tampabay News

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