Florida death row inmate Lucious Boyd charged with second killing, cops fear potential additional victims

FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA: A convicted murderer already sentenced to death in Florida for one 1998 murder has now been charged with a second killing that happened just two weeks later.

Investigators also believe there could potentially be more victims tied to 64-year-old Lucious Boyd, a former mortician, as reported by the Associated Press.

DNA testing links Lucious Boyd to killing of Eileen Truppner in 1998

The Broward County Sheriff’s Office announced on Tuesday, December 5, that DNA evidence has linked Boyd to the December 1998 murder of 41-year-old Eileen Truppner, a mother of two originally from Puerto Rico.

Truppner's body was discovered along a highway west of Fort Lauderdale shortly after her death but remained unidentified for over 20 years.

Recent DNA testing matched evidence found on Truppner’s body to Boyd, who is currently on death row for the 1998 kidnapping, rape, and murder of 21-year-old nursing student Dawnia Dacosta.

“For over 20 years, there had been no justice, no closure,” said Sheriff Gregory Tony at a press conference. “(Truppner) is no longer faceless. She is no longer nameless.”

Detectives in Florida suspect Lucious Boyd is serial killer 

The sheriff’s office now believes that Boyd may be connected to additional unsolved murders from the 1990s, as he was known to travel around Florida at that time. “Because we suspect him of other ones, we strongly suspect he's a serial killer,” said Capt John Brown at the press conference.

In the 1990s, Boyd’s girlfriend Patrece Alston disappeared while he was on a trip to central Florida. She was 19 years old at the time and has never been found. Boyd gave conflicting stories about what happened to Alston, but no charges were filed due to lack of evidence.

The new DNA evidence linking Boyd to a second murder has prompted detectives throughout the state to take another look at cold cases from that period. They believe Boyd likely took advantage of vulnerable women.

“He's a predator and he sees his opportunities,” Brown said.

Lucious Boyd claims law enforcement has a vendetta against him

Truppner moved to South Florida in the 1990s to learn English but began having mental health issues after the birth of her two children, according to her sister Nancy.

“My sister was very kind with a good heart. She never criticized anybody, she never hurt anybody,” said Nancy Truppner at the press conference. “She did not deserve to die the way she died.”

Boyd was found guilty in 2002 for the rape and murder of Dacosta in December 1998. He kidnapped the 21-year-old nursing student after offering her a ride when her car ran out of gas. Dacosta's stabbed body was found three days later, with Boyd's DNA present.

Prosecutors presented evidence at trial showing Boyd stabbed Dacosta 36 times before dumping her body. He continues to claim he is innocent and that law enforcement has a vendetta against him.

Even before his conviction in the Dacosta murder, Boyd had a history of violent accusations and controversy. In 1993, he was found not guilty because of self-defense in another man's murder.

Just four years later in 1997, a jury acquitted him of rape charges.