MARTIN COUNTY − Randall Todd said another man approached Leodere Verdisca as he sat on a chair, and stabbed Verdisca twice in the chest with a folding knife.
After the violent encounter, Todd, 40, described how Verdisca’s body was placed in a wheelbarrow and then a Pontiac convertible before being left in a pond where it apparently was found in March.
The details came in recently-released records supporting Todd’s arrest July 12 on a felony charge of being an accessory after the fact to a capital felony charge.
Martin County Sheriff’s Lt. Yesenia Carde said Thursday no additional arrests have been made following the death of Verdisca, 40, of Port St. Lucie, but could not release additional information.
What happened?
Verdisca’s body was found March 17 around 5:30 p.m. by a dirt bike rider in a shallow pond in a wooded area near Southeast Willoughby Boulevard and Southeast Cove Road, the Sheriff’s Office has said.
Weights had been tied to the body, records show.
An autopsy determined rope was tied around the neck and left leg. Two wounds considered fatal were found to the chest and aorta, the main artery of the body that passes over the heart.
Noting Verdisca’s body was found near a homeless campsite, investigators went to Love and Hope in Action (LAHIA), which helps the homeless population, and learned a man later identified as Todd had not been seen for more than a month.
Investigators learned Todd arrived at LAHIA around Feb. 6, “in bad shape, stressed out, nervous, sweating, and crying.” An employee said Todd reported he had to get out of town, and was scared.
Todd reportedly said “he got mixed up with some bikers,” records show. He said he was staying at a shed belonging to one of the bikers “and some guy owed them a bunch of money and/or possibly some drug deal gone wrong.”
‘Take care of it’
The employee said Todd explained “he was tasked to take care of it.” He couldn’t get into detail and wanted to leave the area. Todd asked that LAHIA “set him up” with a rehabilitation facility.
Investigators were told Todd left the rehabilitation facility in Orlando and possibly went to Alabama.
They found him in Theodore, Ala., just south of Mobile, and spoke to him in Alabama.
Todd said around his birthday in early February, he was at a home when he witnessed a homicide. He said a woman brought Verdisca to the residence and a number of others were present.
Todd said a man there said Verdisca owed him $1,000. Todd said the man got up from a couch, and stabbed Verdisca twice as Verdisca sat on a chair.
According to records, the homicide happened in a home in the 1000 block of Southeast Darling Street, which is north of Southeast Salerno Road between South Kanner Highway and Southeast Willoughby Boulevard.
Todd said he and another person tried to help Verdisca, but he thought Verdisca succumbed to his injuries.
Todd said the accused stabber talked about “wanting to move the body to the swamp area across the street from the residence,” records state.
Todd said he suggested putting it in a pond in a wooded area where he was camping.
Todd reported dumbbell-style weights were tied to the body, which was placed in a wheelbarrow and then in the trunk of a red Pontiac convertible.
Todd said he and another person drove with the body to a pond area where they left it after carrying it about 15 to 20 feet out.
Todd, extradited from a jail in Alabama, was held Thursday in the Martin County Jail on $250,000 bond, a jail official said.
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Will Greenlee is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow Will on X @OffTheBeatTweet or reach him by phone at 772-267-7926. E-mail him at will.greenlee@tcpalm.com.
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