Delusional Marine sharpshooter massacred Florida family because he thought he was saving their daughter, 11, from sex trafficking ring, cops say
The former Marine sharpshooter who murdered a Florida family believed their daughter was sex trafficked and suicidal and claimed God told him to confront them, officials say.
The 11-year-old girl - who remains unnamed and is the only surviving victim of Bryan Riley's massacre - was not trafficked and was living with her family, according to Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd.
'This was all fiction, all made up by him,' Judd said. 'There were no victims of sex trafficking in that house.'
Riley, 33, who faces murder and other charges in Sunday's killings, stopped by the slain family's Lakeland home briefly the day before after going to a nearby friend's house to pick up a first aid kit, Judd said at a news conference.
The former Marine, beset by delusions of child sex trafficking, ultimately led to the massacre of four members of a Florida family, including a mother holding her baby boy, a sheriff said Thursday.
Riley had told acquaintances he was headed for Hurricane Ida relief work and the friend offered the kit for the purported trip. A short distance away, Riley saw Justice Gleason mowing his lawn with his 11-year-old daughter in the yard, Judd said.
That provided the trigger that led to the slayings, Judd said: Riley saw the girl, believing she was an imaginary child named Amber who was suicidal and being held by a supposed sex trafficking ring that God had told him to confront. In fact, no one named Amber lived at the home and Gleason repeatedly told Riley that before asking him to leave their initial encounter.
Riley, who is seen being led out of the Polk County Sheriff's Office, will face his arraignment hearing on October 12 and could face the death penalty for the murders of Justice Gleason, 43, Theresa Lanham, 33, their baby boy, Jody, who was born in May, and Catherine Delgado, 62
Riley shot 11-year-old several times in the legs and she remains hospitalized at Tampa General Hospital where she is in stable condition after four surgeries and is expected to make a full recovery, according to Judd.
She told investigators that her family huddled in a bathroom after Riley shot his way into the home, killed their dog and then attacked everyone hiding there. Riley repeatedly asked about Amber and then counted down - three, two, one - before shooting her and eventually leaving her for dead, she told authorities.
Judd said the girl played dead and was able to survive despite wounds to her legs, hand and abdomen.
'That's the reason she's alive today,' the sheriff said.
Gleason, Lanham, and Jody (pictured), alongside Delgado - Lanham's mother - were killed. Their 11-year-old daughter, who renames unnamed and who Riley thought was Amber, survived and is being hospitalized for gun shot wounds. She claimed 'playing dead' is what saved her life
Judd provided numerous new details about Sunday's slayings, including that Riley, wearing body armor, had three weapons with him and fired at least 100 shots in the main home and a smaller one in back where Catherine Delgado, 62, was the first to be killed.
Riley barricaded himself inside the house as police arrived, wearing body armor, but was shot once and then surrendered without his weapon. On Monday he appeared before a judge to face 17 counts, and was denied bail.
Law enforcement officers fired about 60 shots on Sunday in a gun battle that left Riley with a gunshot wound to the abdomen that is not life-threatening, Judd said. Riley surrendered after that.
'He was a coward. An absolute coward. He looks like a man, but he's not a man. He's a sniveling coward,' Judd told reporters.
Bullet holes can be seen in the windows. Riley reportedly shot 100 times and the police shot 60 rounds
Officers from Polk County can be seen working outside the home
The victims are Gleason, 40, his girlfriend Theresa Lanham, 33, their baby boy, Jody, who was born in May, and Delgado, who was Lanham's mother and owned the property. They possessed no weapons.
Jody died in Lanham's arms.
When he was previously asked by police why he shot the baby, Riley responded: 'Because I'm a sick guy. I want to confess to all of it and be sent to jail,' according to the affidavit obtained by the Washington Post.
In addition, the victims reportedly begged Riley to stop as he continued shooting, the affidavit says he told officers.
Riley allegedly told investigators that 'they begged for their lives and I killed them anyway.'
Miguel Rivera of Lakeland, Florida, was neighbors with the family and heard banging on the sliding door of his home. No one was there when he answered, but speculated he could have died if he did
Authorities said Riley set fire to a nearby pickup truck (pictured) as an 'exit strategy'
Riley also told them he set a nearby pickup truck on fire as an 'exit strategy.'
A neighbor to the family also feared he would have been the victim of Riley's deadly rampage if he answered the knocking on his door before he left.
Miguel Rivera, of Lakeland, Florida, heard the pounding on his sliding door early on Sunday before the mass shooting occurred.
Even though no was there by the time Rivera responded to the knock, he believes that he might have been another one of alleged shooter Bryan Riley's victims if he had gotten there sooner.
'I pray to God every day I am alive still,' Rivera told the Associated Press on Tuesday.
Riley served as a Marine in Iraq and Afghanistan and was working as a security guard in the Lakeland area, including at a church. After that recent job, his girlfriend of four years told investigators, Riley began talking about communication with God but not about violence.
'No one has told us they knew anything about violence,' Judd said.
Riley is recovering from his gunshot wound and is being held without bond on murder, attempted murder and other charges. An October 12 arraignment date is set for him to enter a plea. Judd said he has already confessed to the crimes, which could bring the death penalty.
Investigators also have not yet verified Riley's post-arrest statement to officers that he was high on methamphetamines at the time of the shooting. No evidence of that drug has been found, although Judd said illegal steroids where found at Riley's home in Brandon and hospital blood tests could reveal more.
'This investigation is not near over. This is going to go on for weeks and weeks and weeks,' the sheriff said. 'This mass murder is exceptionally horrible.'
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