VERO BEACH, Fla. — A man suspected of killing two Indian River County public works employees outside a library on Tuesday was "still at large," police said during a Wednesday news conference.
The shooting occurred Tuesday at about 7 a.m. in the back parking lot of the Indian River County Main Library, 1600 21st Street. When officers arrived, they found the bodies of Danny Ooley, the assistant director of Public Works, and Stacie Ellis Mason, a traffic analyst technician.
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Vero Beach Police Chief David Currey said that Ooley arrived at the parking lot in a Ford Ranger. Mason then arrived a short time later in an SUV and got into the passenger's side of Ooley's truck.
Shortly thereafter, investigators said surveillance video showed the suspect, Jesse Scott Ellis, 64, arrive at the scene and approach the Ranger.
"The library was a location (where the victims) apparently met before, and they met again there yesterday morning, and Mr. Ellis apparently was aware of that," Currey said.
Using a long gun described as being similar to an AR-15, police said Ellis fired "multiple" shots into the Ford Ranger to kill Ooley and Mason. Currey said the weapon was recovered at the scene of the crime.
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After the shooting occurred, Currey said Ellis drove to nearby South Beach Park, went into the ocean fully clothed and swam about 900 yards offshore.
At about 8 a.m. Tuesday, police said first responders received a call, saying a man was spotted going into the ocean.
WPTV's Zitlali Solache spoke with one witness, Carol Hughes who is certain she saw Ellis. She says she unintentionally took a photo of him and sent it to investigators.
“I was taking a walk on the beach, at Riomar Beach, for the sunrise, and noticed there was somebody swimming in the ocean pretty far out," said Hughes. "It wasn't until this morning when I was reading Facebook that it said he had gone swimming, and I'm thinking, 'oh my gosh. That's what I saw.'”
Currey said fire department crews responded to the Riomar Country Club area, used a boat and went into the water to get Ellis, not knowing who he was. Rescuers spoke to him, but did not bring him back to shore.
"(Rescue crews) determined that (Ellis) was in a safe scenario," Currey said. "He gave them a name, but it wasn't (his real) name."
Currey said Ellis and Mason were married for 13 years, and called the killings a "crime of passion."
"(The two victims) were apparently seeing each other for a period of time, and one husband (was) upset about it," Currey said. "Miss Mason and Mr. Ellis were in the midst of potentially separating or divorcing, from what we've learned, and maybe over the last several weeks to a month or so, their home was getting ready to be sold, so they were conversing amongst themselves about separating and selling the home."
Currey said Ooley was also a married man, calling his relationship with Mason "essentially an affair."
"This was a targeted marital issue that went terribly, terribly wrong," Currey said.
Police located Ellis' unoccupied vehicle, a 2022 Ford F-150, at South Beach Park on Tuesday.
"We are literally searching his vehicle right now," Currey said. "I can't share anything that was discovered yet."
When Currey was asked where he thinks Ellis is located, the police chief responded, "That's a good question."
Police said all of this is still a "very, very active investigation."
"This is a little unique, but we're sifting through a lot of evidence right now," Currey said. "Could (Ellis) have drowned? Potentially, yes. Could he have come back out of the water? Potentially, yes."
Currey said law enforcement agencies continued to scour the waters on Wednesday using boats and drones in their search for Ellis.
"Search warrants have been executed at a residence connected to the suspect," Currey said. "Investigators recovered multiple firearms and digital evidence, including cellphones, which are currently undergoing forensic analysis.”
Ooley worked for the county for nearly 25 years, while Mason had worked with the county since 2014.
"Danny rose from the ranks as a maintenance worker to assistant public works director, worked almost 25 years within the county, and then you have Stacy, who spent 14 years as a traffic analyst, well-liked, brought smiles to people's faces, very positive," Indian River County Administrator John Titkanich said.
