Bay County Sheriff’s Office investigates Parker murder-suicide

BAY COUNTY, Fla. ( WMBB ) – What was reported as a structure fire quickly turned into what authorities say is a murder-suicide investigation.

“When we got there, we had the two bodies. Both individuals had gunshot wounds to the upper torso,” Bay County Sheriff’s Captain Jason Daffin said.

Just before 9 p.m. on Wednesday, Bay County Sheriff’s deputies, Parker police, and the Callaway, Parker, and Springfield fire departments responded to a mobile home fire in Parker on Janice Drive.

There they discovered the bodies of two neighbors: 64-year-old Edward Langston and 51-year-old Jose Perez. Daffin said Langston shot Perez during a suspected altercation.

“We were confident [Langston] was responsible for [Perez’s] death and the injuries that were inflicted on him,” Daffin said.

Daffin said Langston, who suffered from mental health issues, set his own trailer on fire before shooting himself in the chest.

“He had barricaded the front door where [firefighters] could not make entry into the front door to try to do lifesaving measures to get him out. They ended up having to go to the back of the trailer, and they had to breach the door. It was also secured from the inside,” Daffin said.

Langston did have a home camera on top of his trailer, but Daffin said it didn’t record any footage of the incident.

“I don’t know if it was anything, any kind of action taken by somebody to not record it as opposed to the DVR just filled up and wasn’t set to override previous recordings,” Daffin added.

Daffin said he’s confident a third party isn’t involved, but the investigation is ongoing.

If anyone has any additional information on this case, contact the Bay County Sheriff’s Office at 850-747-4700.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to mypanhandle.com.