CLOSE Skip in Skip x Embed x Share A pair of suspected killers are on the run after being accused of killing three women. Nathan Rousseau Smith (@fantasticmrnate) has the story. Buzz60 
 
 The tipster who notified law enforcement about Boyette and Rice has been awarded $10,000. (Photo: Escambia County Sheriff's Office) 
 
 PENSACOLA, Fla. — The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office has doubled the number of deputies on the street as the department continues searching for suspected murderers William Boyette and Mary Craig Rice, who authorities say are on a multi-state killing spree. 
 
 An attempted murder Monday morning marked the third attack over the last week in a spree that has crossed state lines and left three women dead and one critically injured. 
 
 ECSO deputies responded to a Pensacola address around 6:30 a.m. CT Monday to reports of a home invasion and vehicle theft. The mother of Kayla Crocker went to Crocker's house to check on her after the young mother didn't show up for work and found Crocker with a gunshot wound. Her 2-year-old son was reportedly unharmed. 
 
 Crocker, 28, was taken to the hospital in critical condition, and her vehicle, a white Chevrolet Cobalt, was stolen from the residence. Authorities confirmed via video surveillance that Boyette and Rice took the stolen vehicle to a Shell gas station only minutes later and ate at a nearby Hardee’s. 
 
 Rice had previously been considered a person of interest in the attacks, but was upgraded to an official suspect Monday afternoon. Authorities believe Rice had multiple opportunities to flee or ask for help, and was seen entering stores on her own. 
 
 The small communities along the Florida Panhandle have been on high alert for a week, when the pair’s alleged crime spree began. Two bodies were found at the Emerald Sands Inn in Milton on Jan. 31. One of the victims, 30-year-old Alicia Greer, was in a relationship with Boyette, but police have said all consequent victims have no known connection to the suspect. The second victim in that attack was identified as Jacqueline Jeanette Moore, 39. 
 
 The pair then allegedly went to Lillian, Ala., where authorities say they killed Peggy Broz and stole her vehicle Friday morning. The pair is believed to have then returned to the Pensacola area. 
 
 Monday’s shooting marked the third attack and law enforcement authorities don't believe it will be the last. 
 
 William Boyette and Mary Rice wanted poster (Photo: Special to the News Journal) 
 
 “What we are experiencing is a running nightmare, quite honestly,” ECSO Chief Deputy Chip Simmons said during a press conference Monday. 
 
 Simmons said all minor property investigations have been put on hold to free up deputies to search for Boyette, 44, and Rice, 38. 
 
 “In short we have a killer, he is in our midst … everyone, and I mean everyone, should be aware of this, should be aware of what they look like.” 
 
 Boyette has a drug trafficking history, according to Morgan, including heavy use of the drug Spice. Users have been known to stay awake for several days at a time, Morgan said. 
 
 Boyette, 44, had a lengthy history of violent crimes leading up to the homicides over the past week. A familiar thread is woven through each. Arrest records show a consistent violent pattern in which Boyette is accused of attacking girlfriends, threatening to kill them and on numerous occasions allegedly beating or stabbing them until they called for help. 
 
 Boyette was accused in 2014 in Santa Rosa County of beating a girlfriend because she came home late from work and smelled of alcohol. He told her that if she reported his abuse he would "drag (a trial) out and make her life miserable," according to the arrest report. 
 
 The Escambia County Sheriff's Office is investigating a home invasion and shooting on Beulah Road. The Monday morning incident is being linking to suspect fugitive William Boyette. (Photo: Tony Giberson/tgiberson@pnj.com) 
 
 The victim was so in fear for her life that she initially lied to police, telling them Boyette hadn’t touched her despite the redness and swelling on her face. Eventually she told police Boyette had threatened to kill her a number of times, according to the arrest report, and that he was the offender in another violent case where she had told police she was attacked by a stranger. Charges in the case were dropped when the victim recanted once again. 
 
 A Pensacola woman called 911 in June 2015 and whispered to dispatchers that her boyfriend was trying to kill her. She said he had stabbed her multiple times in the arms and legs. He had tried to strangle her and taken away her phone in an attempt to keep her from seeking help, she said. When Escambia County Sheriff’s Office deputies arrived on scene, the victim was bleeding and crying as she directed police to a bedroom where her attacker had passed out with a large kitchen knife in his hand. 
 
 In the bedroom, deputies found William Boyette. 
 
 Boyette was booked into Escambia County Jail on a $260,000 bond facing charges of kidnapping, battery, aggravated assault, aggravated battery and obstructing justice. He spent less than a year in custody before he was released June 17, 2016, when prosecutors were forced to drop the charges against him because his victim couldn't be found. She was wanted on her own criminal charges. 
 
 Within 14 hours of his release, the U.S. Marshals arrested Boyette in Santa Rosa County on a probation violation. He served only three months in jail. 
 
 It's a story that has played out over and over throughout Boyette's life. 
 
 He was arrested at least three other times in Escambia and Santa Rosa counties in as many years on battery, assault, kidnapping and weapons charges, but never served more than a year in jail for the offenses. Boyette's troubles go as far back as 2002 in Santa Rosa County, where he has faced charges of grand theft, drug trafficking, felony battery, possession of a firearm, armed robbery with a firearm, aggravated assault by threat, and resisting arrest. In many cases, charges were eventually dropped. 
 
 Boyette had been out of local law enforcement custody only four months before he allegedly killed he first of the three recent victims. 
 
 The same caliber of weapon has been used in each murder, but authorities haven't released any further details on the weapon. 
 
 Deputies have been searching a wooded area near Nine Mile Road after footage showed Boyette and Rice in the area Monday. Morgan said police are searching for possible encampments, and dogs have been used to search those areas. 
 
 “He has made this statement to many, many people that he will not be taken alive,” Morgan said. 
 
 “So again, in law enforcement we take those threats and those admonitions very seriously.” 
 
 Follow Emma Kennedy on Twitter: @Em_Ken_ 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/2kGALFe ||||| UPDATE: 
 
 12:00 P.M. — A week after a man began his alleged killing spree, investigators say they have one message for him and his accomplice: “Surrender or end up in a cemetery.” 
 
 Santa Rosa County Sheriff Bob Johnson makes the statement from a Tuesday morning press conference to update the public on the search for suspected murderer Billy Boyette Jr. and the woman traveling with him Mary Rice. 
 
 Investigators now say Rice has a capital murder warrant for her arrest after being named as a suspect Monday. Police originally feared she was Boyette’s hostage. Evidence collected since the first sighting of the two together makes it more likely she is an accomplice. 
 
 A new picture of Rice was also released at the press briefing. Sheriff Johnson says it was taken at a Walmart two days after Boyette and Rice allegedly killed 30-year-old Alicia Greer and 49-year-old Jacqueline Moore at a hotel in Milton, but before allegedly killing 52-year-old Peggy Broz at her home in Lillian, Alabama. 
 
 Police have said they believe Boyette may have shaved his head and goatee to avoid recognition and Rice likely dyed her hair orange. 
 
 “His [Boyette’s] best choice of action if he wants to survive is to surrender, give yourself up we’ll treat you fairly and you will not be harmed, other than that it’s game on, our officers are not going to take a shot from this guy,” says Johnson. 
 
 Boyette and Rice have been able to avoid detection by authorities for several days, essentially hiding out in the woods of northwest Florida. 
 
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 (ORIGINAL STORY) 
 
 BALDWIN COUNTY, AL (WKRG) — The urgent search continues for a man suspected in three women’s murders – two in Florida and one in Alabama. 
 
 Investigators tell WRBL sister station WKRG the fugitive Billy Boyette Jr. also shot a fourth woman during a home invasion early Monday morning. Injured 28-year-old homeowner Kayla Crocker, whose 2-year-old son was home at the time but did not witness the shooting, was rushed to the hospital and is expected to survive. 
 
 Police say Crocker was likely not connected to Boyette, but he shot her to use her car in his getaway. 
 
 The 2006 white Chevy Cobalt, with a skull and crossbones sticker, damaged right rear passenger door, and Florida license plate 9613BJ, is believed to be carrying Boyette and his accomplice Mary Rice. 
 
 Rice was identified as a suspect at a 4:00 press conference by Escambia County Sheriff David Morgan, who says enough evidence has been compiled against Rice to name her as a suspect. 
 
 In a 1:30pm update from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office, new images show Boyette and possible accomplice Mary Rice walking in the woods. Boyette appears to be armed with a handgun in the images. 
 
 The Escambia County Sheriff’s Office will only say the images were taken “recently,” as in, since the pair have been wanted by authorities. Deputies will not say where the images came from or where they were taken. 
 
 The 2006 Chevy Cobalt was rumored to have been seen on I-10 westbound in Baldwin County, though the exact location of the sighting is unknown. The vehicle could be in Baldwin County, Escambia County or even Mobile County if it continued traveling west. 
 
 CRIME TIMELINE 
 
 TUESDAY JAN. 31 — Boyette allegedly kills Alicia Greer, 30, and Jacqueline Moore, 49, at the Emerald Sands Inn in Milton, Florida 
 
 FRIDAY FEB. 3 — Boyette allegedly kills Peggy Broz, 52, at her home in Lillian, Alabama 
 
 MONDAY FEB. 6 — Boyette shoots Kayla Crocker, 28, in a home invasion in Beulah, Florida (Crocker expected to survive) and steals her car 
 
 Boyette is believed to have changed his appearance by shaving his head and his goatee. His companion, Mary Rice, is also believed to have dyed her hair orange to prevent being identified. The two were spotted at a Hardee’s at a gas station early this morning, shortly after the alleged home invasion. 
 
 Boyette is accused of three murders — two in Milton, Florida and one in Lillian, Alabama. He is considered armed and extremely dangerous. If you recognize him, do not approach — call police immediately.
– Florida is facing a "running nightmare" with two people on a killing spree that has so far left three women dead and another in critical condition. William "Billy" Boyette and Mary Craig Rice are wanted in the Jan. 31 murders of 30-year-old Alicia Greer—who was in a relationship with Boyette—and 39-year-old Jacqueline Jeanette Moore at a hotel in Milton. Police believe the suspects then drove to Lillian, Ala., killed 52-year-old Peggy Broz in her front yard, and fled with her vehicle on Friday. In the latest incident, the pair are accused of shooting 28-year-old Kayla Crocker and stealing her vehicle in Pensacola on Monday. Crocker was taken to a hospital in critical condition but is expected to survive, reports the Pensacola News Journal. Authorities say Boyette, 44, and Rice, 38, have managed to elude capture by staying "very mobile." They're believed to have camped in wooded areas; two photos circulated by police show the pair walking in woods with supplies and an apparent handgun, reports WKRG. "What we are experiencing is a running nightmare, quite honestly," a police rep says, noting all victims apart from Greer appear to have been selected at random. Another adds Boyette—accused of stabbing and strangling a girlfriend in 2015—has told "many, many people that he will not be taken alive." Authorities "take those threats and those admonitions very seriously," the rep says. Police say the couple are armed and dangerous and should not be approached.