SPRING HILL, Fla. (NewsNation Now) — Human remains were found at the former family home of convicted serial killer, Billy Mansfield on Tuesday, Florida officials said.
The grisly discovery was made in Hernando County and it could change the course of a decades-old serial killer case. Graphic discoveries had been unearthed at the home before by law enforcement, bringing with it what neighbors call a house of horrors.
The family compound, surrounded in suspicion and morbid mystery still has the locals in Spring Hill visibly nervous as they talk about Tuesday’s discovery.
“That family is dangerous. They will kill you, like they killed others. I can’t say anything about them at all. I might get killed. They’re crazy,” said a man who did not want to give his name.
The father and the brother both remain in the house, both with lengthy criminal histories. In fact, the brother was arrested on drug charges in the early-morning hours Tuesday.
That’s when the case broke wide open, sources say, with the brother sharing the secrets of the past with deputies. Witnesses say as he was being escorted from the home by deputies, he began yelling loudly, demanding immunity on the impending drug charges. He tipped off detectives with a clue that’s now launching a whole new investigation.
There’s bodies all over the property, he yelled.
Human remains were found just hours later.
Neighbors told NewsNation affiliate WFLA that multiple investigators began showing up at dawn, bringing bulldozers with them.
According to court documents and dozens of detectives over the years, what happened in the Spring Hill home in the 1970s was the stuff of nightmares with details so horrific, longtime residents admit just talking about the Spring Hill home makes them uneasy.
The location is where Mansfield allegedly tortured young women with his father and brother, prosecutors say.
The family members allegedly sexually assaulted and tortured the victims with Mansfield then murdering the women, often dismembering them in the house.
Mansfield admitted later in court he would bury the bodies nearby because he wanted them close.
Upon the discovery Tuesday, forensic teams, the Hernando County Sheriff’s Office and the medical examiner’s office spent from sun-up to sundown at the home.
Now, the investigation continues as they property will once again be scoured on Wednesday, searching for more bodies.
“It’s scary to think stuff like that happens,” Christian Green said, a lifelong resident of Hernando County.
NewsNation affiliate WFLA contributed to this report.