Credit: Hernando County Sheriff's Office Facebook
In a recent conversation with State Attorney Bill Gladson, convicted serial killer Billy Mansfield indicated the possible location of more victims of his crimes. Now, after two days of digging and the use of archeological cadaver dogs, the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office reports “nothing of significance” was found.
“We [were] cautiously optimistic that we might find something, but we’re also dealing with a serial killer that is less than truthful,” said Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis.
William “Billy” Mansfield is responsible for the murders of at least six girls and young women between 1975 and 1980. He buried the bodies of four victims at his home in Spring Hill, Florida, and later traveled with his brother to California, where he raped and strangled another woman. He was convicted of the last homicide, and later pleaded guilty to the previous murders to avoid a death sentence in Florida, instead receiving four life sentences. In January 2024, he confessed to another teenage girl's murder in Florida.
While two of the four bodies recovered from the family home were identified quickly, two were not. Sixteen-year-old Theresa Fillingim was finally identified in July 2022 by Parabon. The remaining Jane Doe is unidentified, but Nienhuis said the police now have a DNA profile and have used genetic genealogy techniques to close in on her identification.
“We haven’t got it narrowed down very far, but we might have some distant relatives we can talk to,” the sheriff said.
More victims?
At some point after his conviction, Billy indicated there may be more bodies in Hernando and Pasco Counties, but said he would only reveal them in exchange for reduced charges for his father, William Mansfield Sr., who had been arrested on multiple counts of child molestation.
As Billy was already serving four life sentences and given the young ages of Mansfield Sr.’s victims—all under 10—prosecutors at that time did not take that deal.
Still, cold case detectives, the FBI, and the state attorney have all continued to speak to Billy throughout the years in hopes of uncovering more information.
“The likelihood of a prosecution is likely zero, but if there are bodies out here we want to give them the proper burial and give their families the answers to what actually happened to their loved ones,” said Nienhuis.
Around 2023, information from Billy led the police to dig out an area by the intersection of Ft. Dade Avenue and Citrus Way in Hernando County. They found no indication of bodies and ceased the search.
Based on recent conversations Billy had with Gladson, in addition to thousands of pages of case files, police thought the bodies could actually be northwest of that intersection. On June 22, multiple agencies conducted a dig with archeological cadaver dogs northwest of the original intersection. Nothing of significance was found.
The next day, the team checked an area by the intersection of Dry Creek Ranch Road and Sunshine Grove Road as the cadaver dogs had a “very light hit” on the area. Nienhuis said it was enough of a hit to encourage more digging, but ultimately, nothing was found in this location either.
At this time, the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office said are no plans for any additional future searches.