New Details About Why Police Think A Young Florida Captain Killed His Girlfriend And Himself Days Before He Planned To Propose
His mom found their bodies.
CBS 12 A Florida couple was found dead in their apartment just days before Christmas in what law enforcement says was a murder-suicide.
Richard Bater-Timilty, 26, and his girlfriend Holly Given, 26, were found dead in their Singer Island apartment by the man’s mother on Wednesday.
“My heart bleeds for his mom, like I have a child, I can’t even imagine walking into something like that,” said the couple’s neighbor, Crystal Barrios. “That’s gotta be the most tragic, grieving thing a mother could ever deal with.”
According to CBS 12, Bater-Timilty, who went by the name Travis, shot and killed his girlfriend of just a few months and then fatally shot himself. Neighbors told authorities they heard gunshots around midnight.
His mother discovered the gruesome scene after going to the Singer Island apartment to check on the two when she was unable to reach them by phone. The bodies of Travis and Given were reportedly found in the bathroom.
Travis’ parents had seen the couple a mere 30 minutes before they died. An article by the Palm Beach Post said his divorced parents, Lisa Martinez and Dennis Bater, had picked him up from a restaurant earlier that night.
“He was smiling,” said Martinez. “He was happy.”
His parents were devastated and denied claims that the couple was fighting. They said Travis was planning to propose to Given over the holidays.
“It’s unbelievable. They were not the type of people that would wind up like this,” said a neighbor and friend of the couple, Peter Keller.
Both Travis and Given worked at Sailfish Marina on Singer Island and lived together. Travis had recently been promoted to boat captain.
“The fish just came to him,” his father said. “He finally achieved his goal, becoming a boat captain. He had such a bright future.”
Martinez said they owned a total of 8 guns which they kept in the apartment.
The couple did not have a history of domestic violence but records show Travis was arrested twice in Georgia for violating probation and drunk driving.
Investigators have not indicated a motive yet but one of the couple’s neighbors said Given may have been moving out.
Melissa Birch told police she saw Given going to and from the apartment and her car with belongings in a hurry the day before she was killed.
Another neighbor told the publication that Given was planning to move out and Travis was crushed by her decision.
Travis’ mother told CBS 12 that she didn't know what caused him to do such a thing.
“It’s just not like my son to do something like this,” said Martinez.
Law enforcement urges anyone with information about the shooting to call police at 561-845-4123 or Crime Stoppers of Palm Beach County at 800-458-TIPS (8477).