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Autopsy shows victim died before fire

His neighbors wonder how anyone would have killed the quiet, friendly retiree.

By EMILY NIPPS
Published September 21, 2006

TAMPA - Alston Eugene Brooks, 66, was an amiable retiree who always wore a white cowboy hat. Each day, he trekked through Hidden Oaks Mobile Home Park to wait under a tree for the mail carrier. Some days, he pushed his tiny dog, Petite Amore, in a shopping cart.

"He never asked anybody for nothing," said neighbor Janet Roberts, 42, who has known Brooks for almost three decades. "Every little thing he got, he was thankful for. He was a sweet, sweet man."

So who would want to kill Brooks and leave his body to burn at 739 Debbie Circle?

Brooks' remains were discovered about 3 a.m. Wednesday after Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies and firefighters responded to a flame-engulfed mobile home off 138th and Nebraska avenues. An autopsy showed that Brooks died from "blunt trauma" before his residence was set ablaze.

Friends and neighbors were stunned to hear the news. They thought of Brooks as an animal lover and a churchgoer, a man without likely enemies or criminal connections. Roberts said he smoked an occasional cigar or pipe but did not drink or use drugs.

"He talked to himself quite a lot," Roberts said. "He was a loner. But he was kind to everybody he saw."

Until seven years ago, Brooks worked for 11 years as a lumber tagger at Robbins Manufacturing Co. on Nebraska Avenue. His former boss, Jeff Hollar, said Brooks was a good worker.

"He loved cats and he loved the Bucs," Hollar said. "He was a very nice person, kind of kept to himself. God, that's sad. I'll let a lot of people around here know, because we have a lot of old-timers who would remember him."

The mobile home, which sat charred and wrapped in police caution tape on Wednesday, was owned by Brooks' friend Estella Lopez, who did not live there. She was too distraught to come to the phone, said her son, Al Martinez. Brooks also had a daughter, Helen, who could not be reached.

Sheriff's investigators were looking Wednesday for a white male in his mid 30s, described as having a medium build, sandy brown bushy hair and stubble on his face. He apparently frequented the area on bicycle, carrying a tool bag or box.

"He was the last one seen with the victim," sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said. "He was seen over at the victim's residence."

Brittney Alwin, 18, who lives a few doors down from Brooks' home, said she saw a man fitting that description standing outside the burning home as firefighters attempted to extinguish it. She recalled the man, who appeared intoxicated, saying something odd, even before anyone knew Brooks was inside.

"He said, 'You smell that sweet smell? That's a dead body,' " she said. "He had reddish brown hair, a reddish beard and he was on a bike and had some kind of toolbox or a cooler. He was weird."

Carter did not know of any animals that perished in the blaze, but 31-year-old Catina Sherman, whose parents live next door, feared the worst for Petite Amore, a black and white miniature poodle mix.

"I know for a fact she was probably on his lap," Sherman said. "She never left his side. He was the sweetest, most specialest man on Earth."

As news of a homicide investigation spread through Hidden Oaks, neighbors wondered if there was a connection to a mobile home fire about five months ago. No one was hurt in that fire.

"My husband said we might be leaving here soon, with the homes catching on fire and the people riding around through here," neighbor Lisa Mattingly said. "It's not safe."

Before the end of the day, investigators hung a sign outside the burned home that said "ARSON" in big letters and offered a cash reward for information. Cats sniffed the blackened remains.

"I just want them to find out who did this," Roberts said. "Because a man like this shouldn't have been harmed."

Anyone with information is asked to call the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office at 247-8200 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-873-8477.

Emily Nipps can be reached at 813 269-5313 or nipps@sptimes.com.

[Last modified September 21, 2006, 06:52:12]