By Kim Hackett
Published: Wednesday, April 7, 2010 at 1:00 a.m.
In what police described as a twisted tale of unrequited love, a South Venice man has been charged with premeditated murder and attempted murder in the shooting death of Candace Hillock and the wounding of Jason Schaeffer early Monday.
Venice police arrested Justin Abercrombie, 29, of the 3300 block of Orange Road, Tuesday for allegedly shooting Hillock and Schaeffer as they sat in a Cadillac in Schaeffer's driveway near Laurel Avenue and the U.S. 41 Bypass.
Venice police spokesman Tom McNulty said Abercrombie "was attempting to date her and she didn't want anything to do with him."
Hillock, 30, the mother of a 4-year-old girl and 7-year-old boy, died about two hours later after being flown to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg. Schaeffer is still in the hospital with severe injuries to his hand and shoulder.
Police detained Abercrombie Monday but waited a day to arrest him because he showed signs of a drug overdose as he was being questioned, McNulty said. Abercrombie was admitted to Venice Regional Medical Center about 12 hours after the shooting.
Medical personnel "flushed out his system and he is now cooperating," said McNulty Tuesday, adding that Abercrombie confessed to the crimes and told police they could find the murder weapon in the Rotonda subdivision in west Charlotte County.
Charlotte County sheriff's deputies reportedly recovered a gun from the area Abercrombie described.
McNulty said it is not clear if Abercrombie was stalking Hillock, but he reportedly walked up to the Cadillac's driver's seat where Schaeffer was sitting at about 1 a.m. and fired five shots. The shots struck Schaeffer in the hand and shoulder and Hillock in the head and face.
When police arrived, Schaeffer was standing in the driveway, holding a towel over his hand and yelling: "She's in the car; she's shot in the head," according to a police report.
After the shooting Abercrombie drove to Rotonda, threw the gun in a remote area and returned to North Port, McNulty said.
North Port police took Abercrombie into custody late Monday morning and by the time they handed him over to Venice police, he was showing signs of a drug overdose, McNulty said.
A family member had said Abercrombie had liked Hillock for "a long, long time" and wanted more than friendship from their relationship.
According to court documents, Abercrombie's ex-girlfriend had sought a restraining order against him in February, accusing him of several threatening phone messages. The request was ultimately denied.
On Tuesday, Hillock's family was making arrangements at a Venice funeral home and seeking temporary custody of her children.
Hillock's sister described her as a devoted mother who read to her children and played Mozart to stimulate their intelligence.
Kates said her mother was caring for the 4-year-old girl while the 7-year-old boy was with his father's mother.
The family has set up the Candace Hillock fund at Stearns Bank to help with funeral expenses. Farley Funeral Home is handling arrangements. A memorial service is scheduled for Sunday and the funeral is on Monday.
Authorities say Abercrombie was being held in the South County jail.
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