Florida double homicide: Riverview fish farm owners Virgil Best, Shirley Best identified as victims
Deputies have confirmed that a married couple found dead in their home in Riverview are victims of a double homicide. The news came late Thursday night as Virgil Best, 70, and his wife Shirley, 69, were identified as the pair killed.
The couple was discovered at 6:15 am by a relative who then called 911. After securing a search warrant crime scene techs arrived and the news of the homicide was released in the evening.
Both has trauma to the upper parts of their bodies, authorities stated.
Hillsborough sheriff’s Col. Donna Lusczynski said that the investigation was in its early stages and that deputies were still interviewing neighbors and family members.
“At this time, we don’t believe the neighborhood is in any danger, or that it was a random act,” she said.
During the press conference, Lusczynski confirmed the medical examiner autopsy was ordered and she was hopeful a cause of death could easily be determined.
The Bests live on a 5-acre property that contains a fish farm, Quality Fins, a tropical fish business, at the back of the property.
“I saw the tape this morning,” neighbor Gail Crowley told Tampabay.com. “I knew there was something wrong.”
Crowley said she lived down the street from the couple for “about 40 years” and described the neighborhood as quiet, residents keeping to themselves and enjoy their land.
The site noted that Crowley said the Bests had a camper and enjoyed the outdoors. But their main focus was on breeding the tropical fish they kept in ponds behind their house.
“The fish farm kept them busy,” she said.