Lakeland, Florida -- Investigators say a man accused of murder in Fort Myers is also responsible for the 2009 death of a woman in Lakeland.
Lakeland Police say 33-year-old Reginald Riggins killed Shawn Hazel Turk on April 9, 2009.
Investigators believe Turk, 34, had only been in Lakeland for a day before she was killed. She had traveled to Lakeland from South Carolina with her boyfriend, a long distance truck driver.
While in Lakeland, Turk reportedly got into a fight with her boyfriend, and he kicked her out of his truck and left town.
Stranded, records show Turk used pay phones in the downtown area at a 24 hour food mart and the bus station in an attempt to contact relatives for assistance.
One reason that Shawn may not have attempted to contact police for assistance is because she believed she had an outstanding warrant. Another reason is because Shawn also had a substance abuse issue.
Investigators think she may not have tried getting assistance from authorities, because she believed she had an outstanding warrant, and that she had substance abuse issues.
At some point, investigators say Turk met Riggins at a bus station and offered her crack cocaine in exchange for sex. They had never met before this point.
The two of them walked down to Lake Mirror and smoked crack cocaine, then walked over to a nearby train station. At this time it is believed that Shawn refused to have sex with Riggins. Riggins became enraged, attacked Turk, and killed her.
Her body was found on the AmTrak property several days later.
In July, 2011, Lakeland police received a tip that pointed them to Riggins as the killer.
Riggins is also suspected of killing 60-year-old Ellerine Williams in June of this year in Fort Myers.
He was located in St. Petersburg, and law enforcement arrested him July 28 for the Fort Myers murder. On Thursday, he was then indicted by a grand jury for the 2009 murder of Turk.
Riggins will now stand trial for both murders.
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