Elderly woman murdered over $70 for drugs, police say

Authorities arrested two men in Central Florida on charges of first-degree murder in the brutal killing of an elderly Lake County woman on Wednesday.

Police alleged the suspects killed the victim over $70 they stole for drugs, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

 Suspects Krystopher Laws, 21 and Joshua McClellan, 19, are accused in the brutal killing of Rubye James, 92,  whose body was later found in a wooded area near a mobile home park east of Leesburg.

Officers arrived at the woman’s home on Wednesday, after friends said they had not heard from her since Monday. When officers went inside the house they found what appeared to be the scene of a bloody struggle. The woman’s car was also missing, but her glasses and one house slipper were left behind on the front porch.

Deputies later located the victim’s car and found blood on the outside and a knife inside on the center console.

Nearby tire tracks led officers to a wooded area where they discovered the victim's body.

On Friday McClellan’s mother took her son and Laws to the police department after she found out the pair had both stolen the woman’s car, the Orlando Sentinel reports.

But Laws and McClellan told officers two different stories.

Laws told investigators that he and McClellan went to the woman’s house to steal money to buy drugs, and McClellan knew the woman because he did lawn service for her.

He then said they dragged her body to the garage and put her in the trunk of her car, stealing the $70, then drove her to where her body was found and buried her.

Laws admitted the two already spent the $70 they stole on marijuana, police said.

But McClellan told officials that they only stole the victim's car.  He said they were scouting empty cars for cash and took the victim's car to "go for a drive." While they were in the car McClellan gave his pocket knife to Laws and told officers the reason there was blood on the car was because "Laws cut himself with the knife," according to the Orlando Sentinel.

Both men remain in the county jail without bond.

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