Georgia Man Kills Brevard County Woman In Cocoa, Commits Suicide In St. John’s County

incident occurred on Atoka Court in unincorporated Cocoa

BREVARD COUNTY, FLORIDA – Brevard County Sheriff’s Office responded to a 911 call Thursday morning shooting that resulted in two people dead in a murder-suicide incident.

According to the investigation, Brevard County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 emergency call at 10:47 a.m. on Thursday from a house on Atoka Court who indicated that a person had been shot.

When deputies arrived, they found found a woman with multiple gunshots in the residence, later identified as 54-year-old Amy Williams.

Williams was taken from the residence and driven by a BCSO deputy to meet with medical personnel who rushed her to a local hospital, where she later died as a result from her injuries.

After the shooting took place in Cocoa, the suspect, identified as Edward Douglas Ratcliffe, 73, from Georgia, traveled to St. Johns County where he later committed suicide.

The investigation has revealed that Ratcliffe was the ex-stepfather of Williams who drove from Georgia early Thursday morning to Williams’ house to kill her.

Authorities say Ratcliffe used to be married to the victim’s mother and blamed Williams for the divorce.

“It appears that Ratcliffe confronted the victim inside her residence where he shot her multiple times before leaving the area,” said Tod Goodyear of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office.

“Sheriff’s Office Homicide agents were contacted by the St. John’s Sheriff’s Office, who advised that a suspect had called emergency 911, advising that he had killed his step-daughter and was going to commit suicide. St. John’s County deputies responded to the area described by Ratcliffe, who upon seeing deputies approach, turned a firearm on himself, taking his own life.”

Investigators say, based on evidence collected at the scenes and comments provided by the suspect, they consider Ratcliffe as the only person responsible for the victim’s death.

Crime Scene Investigators have concluded processing the scene at the Atoka residence and are coordinating the collection of evidence at the suicide scene with investigators from the St. John’s County Sheriff’s Office.

Anyone who may have information about this investigation is asked to please call Agent Nick Walker of the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, Homicide Unit, at 321-633-8413 or CRIMELINE at 1-800-423-TIPS (8477). All calls to CRIMELINE are confidential and the caller may remain anonymous.

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