Disclaimer: This story was written for informational purposes only.
Every year for the holidays, I decorated our arched eight-foot tall windows with cascading Spanish moss. Though I lived in the northeastern part of the country, I was drawn to the spidery elegance. I eventually migrated south and brought the decor with me.
That moss signified southern charm and warmth for me. Homey. Now, I will also associate sadness and mourning for people I never met when I decorate.
This tragic story of a Florida family describes their home nestled in a nice secluded garden, green and spacious with Spanish moss hanging from the trees. Ironically, mystery surrounds the moss, sometimes associated with Southern Gothic themes.
The Sims family mystery, however, goes deeper than Spanish moss ever could, and with no signs of being solved.
Tragedy
Robert Sims, 42, his wife Helen, 34, and their youngest daughter, Joy, 12, happened to be home on Saturday, October 22, 1966, instead of joining most of the town to watch the Seminoles play. When the older daughter, 15-year-old Norma, returned home after the football game ended, she was met with silence. Confused, she went looking for her family.
To her horror, she found her parents and sister in the main bedroom and immediately called the first place that came to her mind.
"Something terrible has happened, please come."
Russell Bevis, proprietor of the funeral home that Norma had called arrived to see the dreadful scene. Robert and Helen Sims were bound and blindfolded in bed. Young Joy was on the floor. All three had various gunshot and stabbing-related injuries.
Norma's parents were clinging to life. Russell Bevis sprang into action and freed Robert and Helen. Joy showed no signs of saving. Unfortunately for crime scene investigators, any potential evidence was compromised with the heroic activity.
Robert died within hours, leaving his wife Helen as the lone survivor. Any hope that she would heal enough to reveal what happened that horrendous weekend would die with her nine days later.
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The Sims Investigation
Larry Campbell, a member of the Leon County Sheriff's Department for 24 years, was assigned as lead investigator. His team ruled out robbery when nothing appeared to be taken from the home. They combed the house for leads and drained a nearby pond. No weapons or clues to indicate a motive were discovered.
The Sims family was admired and well-liked. Robert was a respected technology expert as director of data processing for the Florida Department of Education. Helen had recently left her position as secretary at First Baptist Church of Tallahassee. The close-knit family had nothing in their lives to point to a reason for the brutal attack.
Halloween trick-or-treating was canceled in the Sims' neighborhood that year. No killer had been arrested and the residents were panicked.
As time passed, persons of interest would crop up but solid connections never materialized. A pastor Helen had quit working for a short time before the attack, a teenager from the Sims' area who later committed murder, and a teenage couple who apparently knew details of the case were investigated. No specifics were made public.
Larry Campbell, lead investigator later turned Sheriff said he was haunted by the images of that night and the unsolved case weighed heavily on his mind.
The family was buried at Hebron Baptist Church Cemetery in Mississippi.
The Sims' case from October 22, 1966, remains unsolved.
Please contact info@projectcoldcase.org with any information related to this case, or call (904) 525-8080.
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