Clearwater woman found dead in home

Deborah Wilkes, 44, was found Friday evening by her husband. She had suffered "upper body trauma,'' authorities said.

By LEANORA MINAI

© St. Petersburg Times, published May 20, 2001

CLEARWATER -- The death of Deborah Wilkes has neighbors spooked.

They wonder: Did an intruder kill her Friday, or did someone she knew?

"It's unsettling not to know," said Susie Timlick, 53, who has lived for 17 years across from the house the Wilkeses lived in.

"We have a lot of single women and elderly women around," said Wilkes' next door neighbor, Tammy Maltese, 37.

Wilkes, 44, was found dead at 9:30 p.m. Friday by her husband, Eric, in their home at 3050 Glen Oak Ave. N, according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office. Her body, which had "upper body trauma," was on the bed in their bedroom, authorities said.

There was no sign of forced entry, said homicide Sgt. Mike Ring. No arrests have been made.

Investigators said Wilkes' husband reported that he last saw his wife when she dropped him off at work in Clearwater between 8 and 9 a.m. Friday. When he got home at 9:30 p.m., he called 911.

Neighbors said deputies who responded to the call crawled across the Wilkes' front lawn with their guns drawn. The couple's front door was open. Deputies shouted for Eric Wilkes to come out of the house. When he walked out, they frisked him.

"Why are you coming after me?" shouted Wilkes, 31, according to Timlick, who was watching. "I'm not the one who did it! I'm the one who found her. She's dead, man."

Wilkes' husband has been interviewed by investigators and is not in custody, said Ring, the homicide sergeant.

Ring said investigators are aware of discord in the couple's marital history, but he declined to discuss it. He said neither has been arrested on domestic violence charges.

When asked whether an intruder is on the loose, Ring said: "We don't know yet."

The victim, who had children from a previous marriage, did not work but raised rabbits and exotic birds at her home, neighbors and deputies said. Neighbors said she usually drove her husband to work, or he would ride his bicycle.

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