The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office found out who caused the sad deaths of Paige Pringle and Tara Baker in San Marco last month. They said the person, Ty Christopher Head, who was 22 years old, ended his own life the day after doing these awful acts.
On Wednesday, Chief of Investigations Alan Parker talked to the media about the difficulty in determining the reason for the murders. “We can never find meaning in a senseless act,” he explained.
On August 9th at 1:30 a.m., a tragic event occurred. Paige Pringle was driving on Hendricks Avenue when she stopped at a railroad crossing for an approaching train. Nearby, Tara Baker was waiting on her bicycle for the train to pass.
According to Parker, Ty Christopher Head parked his gray Volkswagen Passat near the train tracks and unexpectedly opened fire on the two women.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office did not disclose specific details about their investigative methods but stressed the importance of preserving the ongoing investigation’s integrity.
Detectives later found out that Head had taken his own life outside of Nashville the day after the murders. It’s unclear why he was in Nashville, especially considering his family lived outside of Jacksonville.
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office investigators worked with the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee to piece together the case.
They determined that the shell casings at the crime scene matched those found after Head’s suicide.
While Ty Christopher Head didn’t have a criminal record, Chief Parker mentioned he had a known history of substance abuse.
Before the murders, he was staying in a halfway house in Jacksonville Beach, but he had started leaning towards homelessness, living in his car.
Parker admitted that investigators are still unsure about where Head was just before the murders.
The community is still deeply saddened by the loss of Paige Pringle and Tara Baker, and their loved ones are still searching for answers in the face of this unexplainable tragedy.
