from October 31, 2020
I normally work with buyers from outside of Key West who are looking to buy a second home. They ask a lot of questions about taxes, insurance, renting rules, and so on. Some ask about safety. I tell them that Key West is a very safe place to live and suggest they checkout the Monroe County Sheriff's website where they can see mugshots of the people arrested for the past ten days including the address where they live, location of the offense, and the charge. I tell them I go to that site everyday. I know what is going on and where.
I tell potential buyers most of the person on person crimes will likely be bar fight on Duval Street or in hotel. Married and non-married couples are often arrested as well. Domestic strangulation is often the charge. Most of the people arrested are charged with DUI or some drug offense - typically possession but sometimes sale.
In April 2017 I went to the sheriff's page and saw the mugshot of Justin Tyler Calhoun. I re-read the name and checked out his sex on the page. Male. As I write this I remember initially being very confused. Allegedly, Calhoun, 24, lived with Mark Brann, 67, in the NewTown house at the top of the page. They were having a fight to determine whether Brann was a cannibal. The fight escalated. According to news reports Calhoun admitted stabbing pens into Brann's eyes, bludgeoning his face with a dresser drawer, and shoving a piece of wood into Brann's mouth. The owner of the house entered the room after hearing blood curdling screams. Brann was flown to the Ryder Trauma Center in Miami where he subsequently died of his injuries.
Nude at the time of the fight, Calhoun found a dress, grabbed some cash, and fled the house. Key West police arrived and started searching the neighborhood and found Calhoun hanging from the roof of the house shown immediately above. He has subsequently charged with first degree murder without premeditation. The State of Florida is seeking the death penalty. The case has not been set for trial.
The scariest stories to me involve things that really happen, not made up tales. Humans are capable of doing all kinds of things - things like the horrific things that happened to this victim. There is no moral or conclusion to this true story except maybe one - be careful who you pickup in bar or continue to date after an initial hook-up. If things don't seem right, they probably are not going to get any better.
Despite this tale of horror, Key West is still a very safe to live. What is going on in the world up in America is even scarier.
UPDATE May 28, 2021
Gwen Filosa of the FLORIDA KEYS NEWS reported that the 2017 brutal murder case left the Killer with a life sentence instead of the death sentence she was facing if she went to trial.CLICK HERE to read the article which lays out the defendant's theory of the case. Justin Tyler Calhoun now identifies as a woman pleaded no contest to first degree murder in exchange for life in prison without the possibility of parole.
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