Convicted serial killer Billy Mansfield appears in court during his trial. Four life sentences were handed down to Mansfield after authorities discovered the remains of four women buried in the backyard of his Hernando County, Florida, home.
SPRING HILL, Fla. - Hernando County deputies and federal agents launched a fresh search on Monday for more bodies linked to imprisoned serial killer Billy Mansfield, scouring wooded properties near local ranches.
Mansfield cold case investigation
What we know:
The Hernando County Sheriff's Office, the FBI, Florida Gulf Coast University and the state attorney's office launched a large-scale search operation on Monday.
"We are cautiously optimistic that we might actually find something but we’re also dealing with a serial killer who is less than truthful and may be either mistaken because it’s been so long," Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis explained. "He may be lying to us. He may be delusional. He may be who knows what."
On Tuesday morning, teams shifted their focus to digging around Dry Creek Ranch and Sunshine Grove after specialized archaeological cadaver dogs flagged the area with light hits.
The search stems from information tied to Billy Mansfield and his brother, Gary who were arrested in Nevada in 1980.
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Billy Mansfield was charged with the rape and murder of a 29-year-old mother of three in California.
While Gary Mansfield had his accessory charges dropped after agreeing to cooperate, Billy Mansfield was convicted of the mother's murder.
Investigators uncovered four bodies on the Mansfield family property on Centerwood, located off of US 19 near Hooters, in the early 1980s.
In 1982, Billy pleaded guilty to the Florida murders, as well as an attempted sexual battery charge involving a fifth female victim, reports the Santa Cruz Sentinel.
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Investigators with the Hernando County Sheriff's Office and forensic teams conduct a search operation in a wooded area on Tuesday. Multi-agency teams are using equipment and specialized teams to dig in the area for potential additional remains linked …
Unidentified serial killer victims
What we don't know:
Authorities are uncertain exactly how many additional people Mansfield may have killed, noting there could be several more victims or none at all.
Historical photos show teenagers Elaine Ziegler, left, and Sandra Jean Graham. Investigators identified their remains on Billy Mansfield's Spring Hill, Florida, property in the early 1980s, while two other victims discovered at the site initially rem …
Out of the four bodies recovered from the family's backyard decades ago, three have been identified as Elaine Ziegler, Sandra Jean Graham and Theresa Fillingim.
A historical photo shows Theresa Fillingim, whose remains were recovered from the Mansfield property in the early 1980s. Cold case investigators used updated DNA profiling and genealogy to finally identify her in 2021.
The final body has a registered DNA profile and genealogists are trying to track down distant relatives, but that woman's identity remains unknown.
Officials also do not know if Mansfield's old claims about burying bodies across Pasco County and Pinellas County are completely accurate.
Cold case historical background
The backstory:
During the original 1980s investigation, Billy Mansfield hinted that more bodies were hidden across west-central Florida.
At the time, his father was also arrested for the rape of five children between the ages of 5 and 10.
About three years ago, cold case investigators renewed their search for the missing women.
An extensive dig took place just south of Fort Dade and Citrus Way utilizing cadaver dogs, but that operation yielded no results. Recent analysis suggested the targets may actually lie north and west of that initial intersection.
Future prosecution and resolution
What's next:
The current search operation is expected to wrap up on Tuesday afternoon.
Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis explained that the likelihood of any new criminal prosecution resulting from a discovery is likely zero because Mansfield is already jailed for life.
"If there are bodies out here, and we are not even sure how many people he murdered, if there’s additional people, there could be several, there could be none," Nienhuis said during a Tuesday social media briefing. "But, if there are bodies out here, we certainly want to give them a proper burial and give their families answers to what happened to their loved one."
The Source: The information in this story was gathered from Hernando County Sheriff Al Nienhuis, who explained this week’s search efforts during an official social media briefing, as well as historical archives from the Santa Cruz Sentinel and previous FOX 13 News reports.