On July 14, 2007, the body of 37-year-old Kelly Lanthorne was found behind an apartment complex at 3750 Trovali Street in Orlando, Florida, lying on her back near the west side of apartment 3754. Lanthorne had sustained a fatal gunshot wound and was discovered nude. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office responded around 10:51 a.m.

Investigators noted similarities between Lanthorne’s killing and a string of eastern Florida homicides between 2005 and 2007 that involved women, many tied to sex work, who were often shot execution-style and left in secluded areas. Those other cases later became associated with the so-called Daytona Beach Killer; a suspect, Robert Tyrone Hayes, was arrested in 2019 in connection with several of those murders through DNA and ballistic evidence. Lanthorne’s death has not been conclusively linked to Hayes, and no charges have been filed in her case.

Prior to her death, Lanthorne had a criminal history including arrests for cocaine possession, resisting an officer with violence, and escape, and she served time in a Florida correctional facility before her 2003 release. Her murder remains unsolved; anyone with information is asked to contact the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.