Florida Man Confesses to Shooting Wife, 2 Adult Kids Multiple Times So 'They Didn't Suffer'

A Florida man confessed to shooting his wife and two adult children inside their family home multiple times each so "they didn't suffer", the Associated Press reported

According to Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper, William Conway Broyles, 57, shot and killed his wife Candace Lynn Broyles, 57, in the living room. He shot and killed his daughter, Cora Lynn Broyles, 27, in her bedroom as she was waking up.

Leeper said William then "busted through the door" of his son's bedroom and shot his son, Aaron Christopher Broyles, 28. He then left to grab another gun and shot him again, WJAX reported.

Leeper said that Broyles called 911 after the shootings. When police officers arrived, they found him lying on his driveway unarmed.

"Later on he told us that he shot each victim multiple times, just to make sure they didn't suffer," Leeper said. "When he was asked why he didn't just shoot himself, he said he was too scared to do that."

Details about what led Broyles to commit the crime have not been released yet, but Leeper said investigators have a "pretty good idea," Law and Crime reported.

"I'm hoping and praying for the best for that family and anyone who knows them because there is something horrible that happened," neighbor Carol Conrique told WJXT.

The Nassau County Sherriff's Office confirmed Broyles is on suicide watch at the jail, WJXT reported.

The public defender representing Boyles warned him not to speak about the case on the phone or with cellmates because they are "being recorded," WJXT reported.

Boyles' next court date is set for December 21.

For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below.

Broyles was charged with three counts of second-degree murder, news outlets reported. He appeared before a judge in Nassau County on Thursday morning and was denied bond. He told the judge he couldn't afford a lawyer, so one will be appointed to represent him.

Broyles spoke clearly but appeared to twitch as he stood barefoot, gripping the bottom of his smock during court proceedings, First Coast News television station reported.

"It's just a senseless act," Leeper said. "When he was asked why he just didn't shoot himself, he said he was too scared to do that."

The family had no reported history of domestic problems, the sheriff said.

The Florida Times-Union reported that Broyles served as music minister at Hodges Boulevard Presbyterian Church. The church website describes him as being happily married for 30 years.