Lydia M. Ridell, 79, died in a mobile home fire in Brooksville, Florida, on September 2, 1993. Her death was later linked to a series of crimes targeting elderly women in Hernando County that included arson and other violent assaults.

Investigators connected Ridell’s death to Edwin Bernard Kaprat III, who was arrested on October 8, 1993, after a surveillance operation that used electronic tracking devices. Kaprat initially confessed to killing four elderly women, including Ridell, and to severely beating an elderly couple. He faced 18 felony charges, pleaded not guilty, and was convicted of multiple murders; a death sentence was imposed on February 28, 1995. Kaprat was killed by other inmates at Florida State Prison on April 19, 1995.

The pattern of fires and assaults raised questions about how some scenes were first classified and how the cluster of incidents came to be linked. Anyone who knew Lydia Ridell or has information about the Brooksville cases is asked to come forward.