MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. - The man Manatee County deputies say killed a 50-year-old blind woman and then set her body on fire was denied bail by a judge today.
Dakota Jibson, 23, is charged with first-degree murder.
Deputies said it appears Jibson and the victim Veronica Polite met by chance. Two witnesses told deputies Jibson had dropped them off at City Walk Apartments where they all live. The witnesses stepped inside an apartment, and when they came out, Jibson and Polite were flirting with each other, the witnesses said.
All four got in a car and went for a ride.
Polite’s burned body was found in a wooded area a few hours later. Jibson had dropped off the witnesses earlier in the evening and continued with Polite.
“They apparently did some narcotics and were out having a good time then suddenly something happened,” said Dave Bristow, spokesperson with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office. “He ended up in an argument with her … It was a very brutal homicide, blunt force trauma to the head, then setting the victim on fire. What triggered this behavior in him we don’t know.”
When Jibson was arrested, deputies found a large amount of blood in his back seat.
During his first appearance, a judge ordered he be held without bond, saing Jibson was labeled a "violent felony offender of concern."
Polite’s neighbor says she will be missed.
“I spoke with her a couple of hours before it happened. She asked me for a ride to get cigarettes. I couldn’t, I had my truck full,” said Amanda Capen, Polite’s neighbor.
“She was sweet, kind, always willing to help people out. He deserves the worst punishment possible they can give him,” added Capen.
A Manatee County judge assigned a public defender to represent Jibson.
►Make it easy to keep up-to-date with more stories like this. Download the 10 News app now.
Have a news tip? Email tips@wtsp.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter feed.
