Love triangle blamed for double murder of Lake Worth couple
LAKE WORTH, Fl. (CBS12) — Investigators cite witnesses who say a love triangle was behind a double murder in Lake Worth.
On Tuesday, a judge denied bond for 62-year-old George McCray, charged with the murders of 50-year old Leotis Lester and 20-year-old Shania Copeland.
Lester and Copeland were found with close range gunshot wounds to the head at an apartment building on Washington Avenue Friday afternoon.
Emotions ran high at the crime scene among the victims' family and friends.
"I'm a little bit relieved that they got the killer," Angela Johnson, Lester's sister, said on Tuesday after learning of the arrest. "But that will never bring my brother back."
"He will never be able to speak to his sisters," Johnson continued. "He has seven-month-old grandson. He has a daughter that's in college."
Johnson said Lester had three sons.
The arrest report says Shania Copeland's mother identified McCray as her daughter's boyfriend, but she also told detectives McCray was jealous of the relationship between Shania and Lester.
The report indicates there were at least two witnesses to Lester's shooting. But detectives say McCray drove from the scene in Shania's mother's car, which was later found in an alley several miles away.
Investigators say McCray phoned one of the witnesses, implying he should have killed him too and finished the job.
It wasn't until the next day, Saturday, when McCray was finally arrested, charged by West Palm Beach Police with a purse snatching.
The arrest report says the gun McCray used belonged to Shania's sister's boyfriend. The boyfriend told investigators he hid the gun, and does not know how McCray got it.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office says McCray has eight felony convictions in his past.
Court records show McCray served a 15-year federal sentence for a bank robbery. The records show while on probation for that offense, McCray picked up new drug charges, and was sent back to federal prison.
"It hurts, it hurts so bad," said Johnson. "Life will never be the same for us."
Johnson has set up a GoFundMe account to help pay for Lester's funeral.