FILE 10 / 22 March 2017 / 63 MIN / full

A British Tourist Murdered

Monticello, FloridaListen

The town

N ↑Public placePublic placeTown centre (approximate places)
Static locations; no street basemap. Places and details. OpenFreeMap © OpenMapTiles Data from OpenStreetMap.

This week we are in Montecello, Florida ... It's in Jefferson County, which is on the border of Georgia. about 0:02:59

History, in brief

1850

As of 1850 there were only 320 people living in Monticello; by 1860 there were a thousand, after the railroad arrived.

about 0:05:04

1827

Jefferson County was formed in 1827 and is named after Thomas Jefferson.

about 0:06:42

Town note

Monticello is named after Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello, though Floridians pronounce it Montecello.

about 0:06:52

Town note

In the 1850s and 1860s the railroad let the town ship cotton, and the land was cleared for cotton fields.

about 0:07:59
All 11 history facts

1850

As of 1850 there were only 320 people living in Monticello; by 1860 there were a thousand, after the railroad arrived.

about 0:05:04

1827

Jefferson County was formed in 1827 and is named after Thomas Jefferson.

about 0:06:42

Town note

Monticello is named after Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello, though Floridians pronounce it Montecello.

about 0:06:52

Town note

In the 1850s and 1860s the railroad let the town ship cotton, and the land was cleared for cotton fields.

about 0:07:59

1882

In 1882 William Ceradew brought the first shipment of watermelon seeds to the region.

about 0:08:38

Town note

By the 1920s Jefferson County produced 80% of the world's watermelons.

about 0:08:47

1908

The courthouse was built in 1908 with one-foot-thick concrete interior walls and is still in use.

about 0:09:36

1968

The courthouse was modernised for heating and cooling in 1968, but the judge's bench and jury box are original.

about 0:09:50

Town note

Monticello is called the most haunted small town in America, especially the Jefferson County correctional facility.

about 0:10:01

Town note

The Monticello Historic District has 42 nineteenth-century buildings within 27 blocks.

about 0:20:16

Town note

The annual Monticello Watermelon Festival is held outside the Monticello Opera House on June 27th.

about 0:20:34

The figures, as told

Religious

62%

Biggest faith: Methodist, 25%

about 0:13:59

Who lives here

White 45.74% · Black 49.39% · Asian 0.0% · Hispanic almost 5%

Ethnicity can overlap race.

Crime / national average

Property crime
right about the U.S. average

about 0:21:34

Violent crime
▲ more than twice the average rate

about 0:21:39

Killing of a tourist in Florida in the past year
the ninth

about 0:27:12

Florida tourism industry
$30 billion a year

about 0:27:26

Florida tourism
20% decline between 1993 and 1995

about 0:50:32

Money

Median home value$90,000
Two-bedroom rent$680 average
Median household income$40,000
Cost of living84 out of 100

For sale

$75,000

Three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,216 square foot house

about 0:17:36

For sale

$149,000

Three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,350 square foot house

about 0:17:39

For sale

$425,000

Five-bedroom, five-bath, 4,400 square foot house

about 0:18:01
All figures and comparisons, as told in 2017

Property crime, burglary, larceny and theft

"right about the U.S. average"

Comparison: "U.S. average". No direction stated.

As told in 2017 about 0:21:34

Violent crime, murder, rape, robbery and assault

"more than twice the average rate"

Comparison: "U.S. average". Direction: above.

As told in 2017 about 0:21:39

Killing of a tourist in Florida in the past year

"the ninth"

No direction stated.

As told in 2017 about 0:27:12

Florida tourism industry

"$30 billion a year"

No direction stated.

As told in 2017 about 0:27:26

Florida tourism

"20% decline between 1993 and 1995"

No direction stated.

As told in 2017 about 0:50:32

Population

"2,411"

No direction stated.

As told in 2017 about 0:11:55

Population change

"down 6.3% since 2000"

Direction: below.

As told in 2017 about 0:12:01

Median age

"44.2"

Comparison: "about 37.5 national average". No direction stated.

As told in 2017 about 0:12:08

Single with no children

"almost twice the average"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: above.

As told in 2017 about 0:12:59

Divorced residents

"20%"

Comparison: "10% average". No direction stated.

As told in 2017 about 0:13:09

Widows

"twice the amount"

Comparison: "national average". Direction: above.

As told in 2017 about 0:13:12

White residents

"45.74%"

Comparison: "62% average". No direction stated.

As told in 2017 about 0:13:22

Black residents

"49.39%"

Comparison: "12.24% average". No direction stated.

As told in 2017 about 0:13:28

Asian residents

"0.0%"

Comparison: "5% average". No direction stated.

As told in 2017 about 0:13:35

Hispanic residents

"almost 5%"

Comparison: "16.9% average". No direction stated.

As told in 2017 about 0:13:35

Republicans

"48%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2017 about 0:14:54

Religious residents

"62%"

Comparison: "49% average". No direction stated.

As told in 2017 about 0:13:59

Unemployment

"exactly at the national average"

Comparison: "national average". No direction stated.

As told in 2017 about 0:15:10

Household income

"$40,000"

Comparison: "about $53,000 average". No direction stated.

As told in 2017 about 0:15:10

Households earning $20,000 to $50,000 a year

"35%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2017 about 0:15:27

Households earning more than $150,000 a year

"2%"

Comparison: "10% usual average". No direction stated.

As told in 2017 about 0:15:34

Cost of living

"84 out of 100"

Comparison: "100 is the average". Direction: below.

As told in 2017 about 0:16:31

Housing cost

"48 out of 100"

Comparison: "100 is the average". Direction: below.

As told in 2017 about 0:16:40

Homes priced between $100,000 and $200,000

"50%"

No direction stated.

As told in 2017 about 0:16:45

Median home price

"$90,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2017 about 0:16:49

Average home price

"$185,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2017 about 0:16:52

Two-bedroom apartment rent

"$680 average"

No direction stated.

As told in 2017 about 0:17:10

Three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,216 square foot house

"$75,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2017 about 0:17:36

Three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,350 square foot house

"$149,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2017 about 0:17:39

Five-bedroom, five-bath, 4,400 square foot house

"$425,000"

No direction stated.

As told in 2017 about 0:18:01

The reviews

No rated reviews

No reviews recorded.

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The story

In September 1993, Gary Collie, a 34-year-old truck driver from Wilson, Bradford, in West Yorkshire, was on holiday in Florida with his girlfriend, Margaret Jagger. After midnight on 14 September they stopped at a rest stop on Interstate 10, a few miles south of Monticello, to sleep rather than drive on tired. Two men knocked on the car windows, intending to rob them. Both men outside opened fire. A fatal shot hit Collie in the neck and went into his chest cavity, killing him. Jagger was hit but survived, dragging herself across the parking lot to a pay phone, leaving bloody fingerprints on it, and calling for help.

It was the ninth tourist killing in Florida that year. Tourism was the state's main industry, worth $30 billion a year, and the case caused panic. Armed guards were placed at rest stops along I-10 for two years.

Investigators found four teenagers.

Assistant state attorney Mike Schneider said they might seek the death penalty.

Rest stop worker Donald Spyvey identified him as a shooter, Thad testified, neighbours said they heard him bragging, and Jagger came from England to testify. There was no physical evidence: no guns, no fingerprints, nothing tying him to the shooting.

On 19 December 1999 two men robbed a Winn-Dixie in Panama City at four in the morning, hit an elderly employee on the head with a gun and took about $150 in postage stamps.

The judge gave him 40 years, and the episode says he will most likely be out in 2024. The trials also drained the town, which cut its library budget by 20 per cent.

The case

Murder of Gary Collie

Victims

Gary Collie (34). truck driver from Wilson, Bradford, in West Yorkshire, England, on holiday with his girlfriend; shot in the neck and killed
Margaret Jagger. his girlfriend, shot and wounded in the attack; survived and testified at every trial

Accused and outcomes

As told in the episode, on 22 March 2017.

Accused

Accused

Accused

Accused

Outcome

Other people

Susie May son. mother
Beatrice Brooks. mother
Stephen Collie. Gary Collie's brother
Brenda Armitage. Gary Collie's mother
Donald Spyvey. rest stop worker who identified as a shooter
Judge F.E. Steinmeier. judge at the first two trials, who declared both mistrials
Mike Schneider. assistant state attorney
William Meg. state attorney who said the case would be retried
Mina Morgan. defence attorney
Dwight Wells. defence attorney
Ken Fortune. Jefferson County sheriff
Elinor Hawkins. county clerk of courts
Dan Bates. detective sergeant

The timeline

  1. September 14, 1993 Gary Collie and Margaret Jagger stop to rest at an I-10 rest stop a little after midnight (I-10 rest stop)about 0:24:19
  2. September 14, 1993 Two men knock on the car windows and try to rob the couple (I-10 rest stop)about 0:25:13
  3. September 14, 1993 Collie tries to reverse and hits a car behind, trapping them (I-10 rest stop)about 0:25:28
  4. September 14, 1993 Both men open fire; Collie is shot in the neck and killed and Jagger is wounded (I-10 rest stop)about 0:25:37

Places and phrases

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Places in the story

Public places are marked on the map.

Heard in this episode