Welcome to Arrest Stories. A forty-five-year-old man has been arrested in Santa Rosa County after allegedly taking a scooter from a crime scene where he discovered the burned body of fourteen-year-old Danika Troy and failing to report the death to authorities. Heres what may have happened.
On December second, Mitchell Eddins was walking in the woods near Kimberly Road in Floridatown when he stopped to relieve himself. During this time, Eddins discovered a burned area in the woods where he first noticed a black scooter with red trim. When he walked over to grab the scooter, he then noticed a burned body in the area.
According to investigators, Eddins took the scooter and returned to his residence in the four thousand six hundred block of Floridatown Road. Once there, Eddins told several occupants at his home about finding the burned body and asked what he should do. The other residents advised him to contact law enforcement immediately.
Despite receiving this advice, Eddins never contacted authorities about his discovery. The burned body was later found by a different passerby who called nine one one to report the scene. When investigators eventually questioned Eddins about why he failed to contact law enforcement after finding the body, he told them he had planned on doing so but never followed through.
The scooter that Eddins removed from the scene matched the description of one that Danika Troys mother had reported missing. Sheriff Bob Johnson confirmed that Troy had been shot several times and her body was set on fire. The victims mother had initially reported her daughter as a runaway teen on December first, and Troy was categorized as a missing person.
During the investigation, Eddins told investigators that Troys scooter was located in a back room of the home where he was staying. Two teenagers, Gabriel Williams and Kimahri Blevins, have been arrested in connection with Troys murder.
Eddins has been charged and is being held on a three thousand dollar bond.
All suspects presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Do not take this report as factual, always verify facts. Thanks for watching Arrest Stories.