CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – A woman who is charged in connection with a December triple shooting in Clay County told investigators the incident started after an argument over stolen clothes, court documents show.
Three people were shot on New Year’s Eve in a rural area off County Road 21 north of Keystone Heights. Clay County deputies said one of those victims, 29-year-old Liza Dukes, died at the scene. Jay Wooten, one of two men who were injured in the shooting, suffered a gunshot wound to his head and died a few days later. His son, Shayne Wooten, was injured but is expected to survive.
Two suspects, Taylor Hill and Victoria Scifo, were detained in connection with the shooting after a police chase that ended in a crash on State Road 100 near SE 81st Street, about 15 miles away in Bradford County.
According to court documents, Scifo told investigators following her arrest that she and Hill were engaged, and were staying with Dukes and James and Shayne Wooten because they had nowhere else to go.
Scifo said things became tense when Dukes and Shayne Wooten allegedly stole clothes from Hill and Scifo.
Scifo said she and Hill planned to leave for Hernando County and paid Shayne Wooten $25 to drive them there, but then there was a confrontation over the stolen clothing that ended in tragedy.
The confrontation led to a physical fight involving Scfio and Dukes, and Hill and Shayne Wooten.
Scifo told investigators that during the scuffle Hill shot Shayne Wooten, and then shot Dukes in the back, according to court records. Dukes died at the scene. Scifo said she saw Hill fire another shot, and he told her he’d just shot James Wooten. James Wooten later died at the hospital.
The couple then went next door and Hill pistol-whipped the neighbor and stole his pickup truck, Scifo told investigators. As they were being pursued by law enforcement, Scifo told deputies Hill ordered her to crash the truck and threatened to kill her, so she crashed into a tree.
Scifo is charged with fleeing police and as an accessory to murder. She was driving the vehicle when the two were caught. Hill, who is still under guard at the hospital, is charged with armed robbery, possession of a firearm by a felon and tampering with a firearm serial number.