A man accused of going on a homicidal spree and killing three people in two states proclaimed himself a ‘prophet’ and said he committed the murders because God needed the victims ‘for the war.’
Suspected serial killer Stanley ‘Woo Woo’ Mossburg, 35, made these bizarre statements while being transported from the Polk County Sheriff’s Office in Flordia to the local jail on Tuesday.
Mossburg is accused of brutally stabbing a man and woman, and taking their elderly housemate hostage in Winter Haven this week.
He is also suspected of murdering a man named Christopher Short in a separate incident in Tennessee earlier this month.
Suspected serial killer Stanley ‘Woo Woo’ Mossburg, 35, is being led to a car on his way to jail on Tuesday after his arrest in connection to three homicides in Tennessee and Florida
Mossburg told reporters he killed people ‘for God’ because there is a war coming between Angels and Demons
Mossburg denied being a serial killer, telling reporters he is a prophet. He also said he is not remorseful because he did it for God
Mossburg, dressed in a white Tyvex jumpsuit with blood on his forehead, was being led to a vehicle by officers when he had a brief exchange with reporters, who asked him why he carried out the murders.
‘Y’all will see God, and there’s gonna be an Angels and Demons fight from God,’ he said, settling into the backseat.
Mossburg then went on to say that he was on ‘the good side’ and that he killed the victims for God because ‘he needs them for the war.’
When asked if he had any remorse, Mossburg shook his head and said, ‘Not when you’re doing it for God.’
He also denied saying to one of the victims that he wanted to be a serial killer, telling reporters with a smile: ‘I’m a prophet, not a serial killer.’
As of Wednesday morning, law enforcement agencies have not officially named the victims of Mossburg’s alleged crime spree, but family and friends identified the man who was stabbed to death in Tennessee on October 1 as Christopher Short, and the woman who was killed in Winter Haven, Florida, during a home invasion on Sunday as Peggy Morey.
One of the victims has been identified by family as Christopher Short, 33 (left). His father, Alan (right), died of a heart attack two days later
Mossburg is also charged with killing Kenneth Bever, 66 (left), and Peggy Morey (right), after breaking into their home in Winter Haven on Sunday
Morey’s housemate, identified by neighbors as Tom Kohl, had been tied up and held captive for 14 hours, but managed to escape the next day and call for help, leading to Mossburg’s arrest following a stand-off with police.
Bob Strouse, who has lived next to Kohl for two decades, told ABC Action News he initially did not believe him when the man came banging on his door for help at around 6pm on Monday.
‘He was frantic. We didn’t believe what he was telling us right off because it sounded so far fetched you don’t want to believe it, but we did,’ Strouse said.
A GoFundMe campaign has been launched to help Kohl, described as a 70-year-old cancer survivor, with expenses associated with biohazard crime scene cleanup at his house and other damages.
Facebook tributes to the victims of the crime spree have identified Kohl’s male housemate killed along with Peggy Morey as Kenneth Bever.
‘Rest easy Peggy and Ken. What a terrible day. 2 people i know murdered yesterday. Just awful.. RIP,’ a friend wrote, tagging Morey’s account.
According to their respective social media accounts, Morey worked as a school janitor in Polk County, while Bever was a retiree.
Nearly two weeks before the events in Winter Haven, Florida, Mossburg allegedly attacked 33-year-old Christopher Short at a laundromat on East Andrew Johnson Highway in Greeneville, Tennessee, slashing him to death.
Two days later, Christopher’s father, Alan Short, suffered a heart attack and died, according to his brother speaking to WJHL.
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said in a press conference on Tuesday that Mossburg told his sole surviving victim, Tom Kohl, that he wanted to be a serial killer and that he ‘likes killing people.
He also allegedly told the man that his housemates, Bever and Morey, were his seventh and eighth victims. So far, however, police have not found evidence supporting that claim.
‘We know he’s killed at least three people,’ Judd said. ‘He tried to kill our deputies last night. This guy needs the death penalty if there’s ever anyone who needed the death penalty.’
Mossburg is suspected of carrying out a crime spree in Tennessee and Florida
An elderly man returned home to find his male roommate dead and female friend tied up before she was eventually killed. Pictured is the nearby scene when Mossburg was captured
Cops said Mossburg told the surviving victim his goal was to kill 11 people.
Mossburg was staying in a house nearby the crime scene with strangers he’s asked for a place to crash.
On Tuesday, Sheriff Judd spoke about the suspect’s route from a killing on October 1 in Tennessee, to Winter Garden, Florida on Sunday.
At 10.30pm on Sunday, Tom Kohl arrived home, where he lived with his two friends, Bever and Morey, and heard the female victim say: ‘Just do what he says and he won’t hurt you.’
Seeing Morey bound in a chair, Mossburg approached Kohl saying, ‘I have guns and knives, I’ll kill you if you resist me’ and ‘Don’t look in master bedroom, you won’t like what you see.’
Mossburg then tied the man to a chair using computer cords before demanding money and valuables.
The suspected killer then revealed to the hostage – who cops say ‘is elderly on medicine’ – that his first victim in the home tried to fight back ‘so I made him suffer before I killed him’.
He added that ‘he killed the female victim quickly because she was cooperative’.
‘He slashed and murdered victim in Tennessee with knives,’ Sheriff Judd told reporters on Tuesday. He added that after killing Morey and Bever in the Florida home on Sunday, he ‘poured bleach on victims, got a mop and bucket and cleaned up’.
Mossburg kept the house ‘freezing’ so the corpses didn’t smell and on Tuesday morning and loaded property from the home into the female victim’s car, telling the surviving man he will return to ‘deal with the bodies’ but ‘if you leave I’m gonna kill you’.
Kohl stayed put from around 12pm-1pm but around 6pm ran to his neighbor and dialed 911.
The sheriff said if it wasn’t for colleague spotting the stolen 2013 black Hyundai Tucson two blocks away at around 9.10pm, while patrolling the area, Mossburg may have killed more people.
Cops tried to kick down a door to a nearby residence where Mossburg was hiding, where a second vehicle reported stolen was outside, but were shot at twice. A SWAT team tried to talk to Mossburg throughout Monday night from 10.30pm until 5.10am Tuesday, but are shot at again.
Eventually they got in using an armored vehicle through the garage and who located the suspect under a pool table, which broke and fell down during the confrontation.
ABC News pictured the scene where Mossburg was captured.
Mossburg was taken to hospital for dog bites after a K9 was sent in, and he was transferred to County Jail Tuesday morning. He is due to appear for a hearing at 1pm on Wednesday.
In Polk County, he faces two charges of first-degree murder of the local victims and attempted murder against deputies.
‘We hope and pray there are no more victims that he’s just bragging,’ Sheriff Judd said.
But Judd asked the public to let them know of any more stolen vehicles in case they were connected to the wanted fugitive from Greeneville, Tennessee.
He added the majority of Mossburg’s 30 charges are non-violent.
‘He just likes to steal and use drugs. By the way he’s a spree killer but let’s not concern ourselves with that,’ the Sheriff sarcastically quipped Tuesday morning.
‘Legislators, when you start talking about low-level suspects, gag me with a spoon,’ Sheriff Judd added.
‘When you kill people with a knife, it’s up-close, personal, based on anger revenge, evil. He didn’t shoot from a distance… all victims we’re aware of had multiple cut wounds as a result of this evil person.’
Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, said in a press conference Tuesday morning. ‘We know he’s killed at least three people. He tried to kill our deputies last night. This guy needs the death penalty if there’s ever anyone who needed the death penalty’