Denny Taylor

Case record: Denny Taylor

Denny O'Dell Taylor Sr., 60, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head after fatally shooting his ex-wife and her brother-in-law and injuring her sister in Fernandina Beach, Florida. He shot himself to death outside a local elementary school as deputies arrived.

Background

Taylor confronted his former family in the parking lot of a nearby hospital shortly before the school shooting.

The family had a history of domestic violence, and an injunction had been issued ordering Taylor to stay away from his former wife and her sister.

Timeline

• Feb. 10 — Nassau County sheriff's deputies responded to a domestic disturbance at the Taylor residence on Blackmon Road. Frances “Sue” Taylor told deputies that her husband, Denny, punched and slapped her in the head after she confronted him for taking her prescription medication for recreational purposes. Taylor was arrested and charged with domestic battery. Deputies found a bottle of painkillers in his pants pocket.
• Feb. 22 — A Nassau County judge granted Sue Taylor a protective order barring her husband from contacting her or coming near her, and ordered him not to approach the Rodgerses’ Jacksonville residence and not to possess any firearms or ammunition.
• March — Sue Taylor’s sister, Sara Rodgers of Jacksonville, told police that Denny Taylor came to her house with a gun and trained it on her, her husband and her sister. He forced them to sit on a couch and told them he was there to kill them; Sue Taylor pleaded with him not to, and he eventually left. The incident was not reported to police until April.
• April 18 — Sara Rodgers told Jacksonville police that her sister’s estranged husband called and asked “if I was ready to meet your maker.” She called police and filed a report.
• April 19 — Sue Taylor’s petition to dissolve the couple’s 38-year marriage was granted in Circuit Court. The doublewide mobile home was awarded to her ex-husband, while other assets were to be split between them. The protective order she had received in February was also dissolved.
• April 24 — Sara Rodgers called Jacksonville police to report that three of her tires had been slashed by someone.
• May 2 — Sara Rodgers obtained another protective order against Taylor.
• May 4 — Taylor shot his ex-wife, her sister, and her brother-in-law in a medical center parking lot behind Baptist Medical Center Nassau in Fernandina Beach. Roy Rodgers was killed while Sue Taylor and Sara Rodgers were wounded. Taylor fled the scene, drove about 2 miles to Emma Love Hardee Elementary School, and shot himself to death in front of a local elementary school.
• May 5 — Taylor’s death and the shootings were described by authorities and in reporting.

Investigation

Authorities described the incident as possibly resulting from a “continued domestic violence situation.”

Investigators worked at the scene of a triple shooting at a parking lot at Baptist Medical Center Nassau in Fernandina Beach where one victim died. The gunman drove about 2 miles to Emma Love Hardee Elementary School, where he shot himself.

Assistant State Attorney Jerome Smiley Jr. said on Feb. 10 that the case was still under investigation.

Arrest

On Feb. 10, Taylor was arrested on charges of domestic battery and possession of a controlled substance.

The arrest report said he struck his wife twice after she confronted him for taking some of her prescription medication for recreational purposes, and deputies found a bottle of painkillers in his pants pocket.

The offence

On May 4, Taylor shot his ex-wife and her family members at a medical center parking lot behind Baptist Medical Center Nassau in Fernandina Beach.

Taylor’s ex-wife, Frances Stephens Taylor, 55, was flown to Shands Jacksonville hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. Her sister, Sara C. Rogers, 57, was seriously injured and was in serious condition Friday morning at Baptist Medical Center. Her brother-in-law, Roy E. Rogers, 66, was killed outside Baptist Medical Center-Nassau.

After the shooting, Taylor fled and then shot himself to death in front of Emma Love Hardee Elementary School as deputies arrived.

Aftermath

School officials said there were no injuries to students or personnel at Emma Love Hardee Elementary School. The school was placed on lockdown, and parents were allowed to pick up their children early. School psychologists were sent there for anyone needing counseling.

Office personnel tried to phone the parents of all 400 students to reassure them that the children were safe. About 350 students were picked up by parents before school ended at 2:35.

Debbie Summerville, a visibly shaken patient at Baptist Medical Center Nassau, said she chatted with Frances Taylor minutes before she was killed and that shortly after Frances Taylor left the office she heard about six shots. Summerville said she saw Denny Taylor in the parking lot before the shooting and that Denny Taylor rose and shot her, Roy Rogers and Sara Rogers.

Sharyl Wood, executive director of administrative services for the Nassau County School Board, said: “As long as the kids at the school are fine, I'm fine.”

The news of the shootings spread rapidly through Fernandina Beach and on national news services while the city was busy preparing for the annual Isle of Eight Flags Shrimp Festival.

School District Superintendent John Ruis said: “The lockdown was to ensure the safety of the children. At no time were our children in immediate danger. Our school has remained secure,” and also said: “We'll debrief some staff this afternoon and assess the impact on the students. We do have a school psychologist in the school right now. We have crisis management procedures for different types of crises, but this was a lot different than anything we've experienced at a school.”

Medical center staff gave emergency aid Thursday to the victims who were then taken to Shands Jacksonville. Spokeswoman Mimi Stewart said: “It was a normal day as far as inside the hospital is concerned.”

School staff made emergency communications to parents during the lockdown, and some parents later described being reassured that children were safe.

Mary Smith, a Fernandina Beach resident and close family friend, said Taylor was distraught that after 38 years his marriage was coming apart and described him as suffering from diabetes and recently having had a stroke. She said he was a retired businessman who at one time ran a dump truck company and a truck stop in Yulee near Interstate 95. She said Taylor adored his grandchildren.

Boe Lewis, 43, who lived next door to the Taylors in Yulee for about a year, said Taylor was “a neighborhood legend” and described Taylor and Sue Taylor as friendly and talkative. Lewis also said that he had learned that police and emergency workers had been at the Taylors’ yard one night a couple of months earlier and that he could tell when they were fighting.

Other details

Taylor lived on Blackmon Road in Yulee.

For months before the May shootings, the family members had lived in fear that Taylor might do something violent.

In February, police and court records described Taylor’s marriage of 38 years to Sue Taylor ending amid protective orders and divorce proceedings.

A protective order prohibiting Taylor from approaching Sue Taylor or coming within 500 feet of their Yulee home was granted on Feb. 22, and Taylor was also barred from coming within 500 feet of Sue Taylor’s sister’s house in Jacksonville.

On April 19, Sue Taylor’s petition to dissolve their marriage was granted in Circuit Court, and the protective order she had received in February was dissolved.

After the shootings, reporting described that Taylor had fled in a gold Chrysler and crashed into another car at 14th Street and Sadler Road as he went through a red light. The Florida Highway Patrol said he was driving about 70 mph and that his driver's door was still open as he hit the back of a Toyota. No one was hurt in the crash, which did only minor damage.

Students and staff at Emma Love Hardee Elementary heard a message over the intercom shortly before the school lockdown took effect.

A witness, Lee Williams of Fernandina Beach, said: “He came in to the school and just drove right up front. I heard a gunshot, 'Pow!' A lot of police were right behind him,” as he described seeing Taylor’s car speed down 14th Street and strike a car in the intersection as it turned onto Sadler Road.