ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (WFLA) — St. Petersburg police are looking for the man they believe is responsible for killing a mother in front of her children Saturday.
St. Petersburg Police Department Public Information Officer Sandra Bentil says a 911 call came in around 5:30 p.m. Saturday for reports of a person shot in the 100 block of 60th Street South.
When officers arrived, Bentil said they found 27-year-old Joana Peca dead inside a car from an apparent gunshot wound. Peca’s two young children were also in the car, unharmed but terrified, according to police.
“Two young children tonight are going to go to bed without their mother,” Bentil said.
Police said Benjamin Robert “Bambi” Williams was in a relationship with the victim, Joana Peca, with whom he had a baby. Peca was holding their baby when Williams shot her several times in the face, with her older child in the backseat.
“Anytime we have children whose lives are affected by violence in this way, we ask the community to please come forward,” she said.
SPPD is looking for Williams for this crime, although they say he has been linked to several other homicides they are investigating. Crime Stoppers is offering $5,000 for information that will lead to his arrest.
Williams is said to be armed and dangerous. If you see him, call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-TIPS or the St. Petersburg Police Department at 727-893-7780.
You can also send a text that includes the letters “SPPD” to TIP411.