The man accused of helping two young men avoid capture following a double murder on Sawtooth Road north of Macclenny almost two years ago confessed to committing the murders himself on June 19, recently filed notices by State Attorney Brian Kramer in circuit court here Wednesday indicated.
The court filings this week showed 26-year-old Robert M. Trueblood, who was accused of disposing of evidence to help Curtis P. Austin, 17, and Waylon J. Hannah, 20, both formerly of Doyle Williamson Road and indicted for first-degree murder roughly a year ago in the fatal shootings of James “Bo” M. Thomas, 49, and David D. Sigers, 54, on July 30, 2022 inside their residence off Steel Bridge Road two summers ago; said he threatened to harm the younger suspects and/or their family members if they spoke about his role in the killings.
When questioned about six months after the double-homicide in early 2023, Trueblood said he assisted with disposing of clothes and guns after the murders but did not participate in the shootings.
Trueblood’s confession this month to the murders prompted the state attorney’s office to file notices on June 26 of so-called “Brady material” in the premeditated murder cases pending against Austin, 15 at the time of the shootings, and Hannah, then 18; but also in Trueblood’s case associated with suspected disposal of evidence. Brady material notices are required when the state discovers evidence that could potentially exonerate criminal defendants.
Pre-trial conference hearings are scheduled for July 18 at 1 p.m. in the three cases linked to the double-homicide that shocked the community in its wake in August, 2022.
A spokesman for State Attorney Brian Kramer’s office said June 27 that changes to the charges against the three defendants could be filed by the state attorney’s office between now and the hearing on July 18 as a result of the new confession this year.
The Brady notices indicated Trueblood was housed at county jail when he requested to speak with Detective David Mancini on June 13, saying via a message system it was urgent and about his case. A week later the detective received the request and met with the inmate, who agreed to make a statement of guilt if he could smoke a cigarette first, the notices show.
While outside with two detectives on June 19 he asked if they could guarantee a 25-to-30 year sentence, which they said they could not but that they would be willing to testify to his cooperation to the state attorney and/or judge in the case. After smoking, Trueblood was led back to an interview room where he produced a written statement of two pages which he read to detectives.
“… He said that he was the one who killed ‘Bo’ Thomas and Daniel Sigers, and that Curtis Austin and Waylon Hannah were not involved other than helping him get rid of the guns,” reads the notices. “The letter detailed Trueblood’s motive for committing the murders, and the sequence of events at the time of the murders within the victims’ residence.
“Trueblood claimed that he threatened harm to Austin and Hannah, as well as their families if they said anything about him committing the murders.”
The Brady notices went on to say, “It should be noted that the majority, if not all of the statements made by Trueblood in the interview and/or in the letter were previously made by Waylon Hannah in a recording that was submitted into evidence, and also transcribed by [Detective Brad Dougherty] in a previously written narrative within the full incident report. Trueblood was adamant that the statement he had written was the truth.”
The state filed notices regarding the submission of evidence into discovery that consisted of “the full case report” on April 17 and “recordings [and] transcripts of recordings” four days before.
Hannah’s arrest report shows autopsies and the investigation found that Thomas was shot 16 times with .22-caliber bullets and Sigers was shot twice in the chest and head with 9-millimeter bullets.
When Trueblood confessed to being an accessory to the murders under questioning in January, 2023, he said Austin and Hannah used .22 caliber rifles to shoot Thomas many times, and then Hannah shot and killed Sigers with a 9-millimeter handgun as he begged for his life.
After the murders in 2022, he reportedly sold four rifles and shotguns, among six long guns reported stolen from the murder scene, for $300 to a buyer who later confirmed the purchase and returned the stolen guns. Trueblood said he dumped other evidence in a pond near a home he occupied with a ex-girlfriend in St. George, GA.
A meth pipe was recovered from the murder scene, and another pipe, along with a piece of clothing and a cell phone, were recovered by authorities from the pond following a search warrant service there in early 2023.
The ex-girlfriend reportedly said in January, 2022 that Austin and Hannah were at their residence shirtless after the murders with firearms they needed to get rid of and told Trueblood how they committed the murders at that time. She said she never saw the firearms, however.
“We have ballistic evidence that ties the 9-millimeter we recovered to the murders,” said Detective Mancini on June 27. “We also have additional evidence since my supplement that supports the belief that Trueblood lied to us in the interview. Additional charges against him are pending.”
Joel Addington
Editor
