BRANDON, Fla. — Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office deputies arrested a man accused of stabbing his mother to death Monday morning in Brandon.
John Aylor was taken into custody at 4 a.m. on Tuesday when deputies got a call from a person who gave them his location, the agency said in a news release. Law enforcement identified the 37-year-old as a suspect after they found 64-year-old Julie Aylor dead when they responded to calls about her being stabbed.
He is facing charges of armed burglary of a dwelling with assault or battery and murder in the first degree while engaged in burglary.
10 Tampa Bay spoke with John Aylor's sister, Kristina Blair, hours after his arrest.
"Never in a million years did I imagine my own brother would kill my mother. My brother took my mom from me for the rest of my life," Blair said. "He acted like he had no remorse like he didn't care that he killed my mom."
Blair said her brother has been addicted to drugs for years, and said his behavior had become more erratic in recent years.
"He's a great guy when he's sober and then when he's high he's like this monster," Blair said.
She said her mother was the only person John had left in his life and that she'd helped him out just days ago.
"She let him take a bath and while he was in the bath she made him a couple of sandwiches and said, 'You still have to go son, I love you and I don't like to see you like this,'" Blair explained.
For his crime, Blair said she will never forgive her brother.
"I will seek the death penalty for my brother just like he did my mom," she said.
The family is looking to the community for help in providing Julie Aylor with a proper funeral. If you'd like to support them, click here for their GoFundMe page.
John Aylor stabbed his mother in the chest after he broke into her house to steal things and they got into an argument, Chronsiter said during a news conference. The sheriff said that John Aylor crawled through the doggy door to get in, and he had done this before.
John Aylor's 10-year-old daughter was in the house at the time since the grandmother is her guardian. A 16-year-old family member who lives at the house was also there. The two were woken up by Julie's cries for help.
"That's what these poor children wake up to last night," Chronister said. The 16-year-old who was in the house called for help but by the time first responders got there, Julie died from her injuries.
This is the 14th family-related homicide so far this year in the county compared to the 16 total last year, Chronister said at a news conference.
"Family violence is a silent crime. There is no blueprint. The only way we can stop these crimes is if you are a victim of family violence and you make that courageous step to ask for help," he said.
Chronister called this incident especially "egregious" because John Aylor stabbed the person who was taking care of his daughter, and Julie was the only person who was providing for the child.
"The ripples of this violence will go on forever in this child’s eyes," Chronister said.
Deputies said John Aylor has an extensive criminal history with the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office dating back to 2003 and has been arrested at least 24 times on theft and drug-related charges.
Body camera footage shows Hillsborough County deputies arresting John Aylor without incident. They walked up to an area in front of a small house where John Aylor was sitting. He came out with his hands up when deputies asked him to and was taken to the Hillsborough County Jail.
Chronister said John Aylor didn't have a violent history up until this incident.
The investigation is ongoing.