Georgia man indicted for traveling from Atlanta to Florida to kill ex-girlfriend, dog, USAO says

TAMPA, Fla. — A Georgia man was indicted on March 20 for traveling from Atlanta to Odessa, Fla. in order to try and kill his ex-girlfriend and her dog.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, Timothy Crawford, 52, was arrested on Dec. 7, 2023, after leaving Atlanta and driving to his ex-girlfriend’s home in Odessa, Fla.

The USAO said details from the criminal complaint against Crawford said on the evening of Dec. 7, 2023, he broke into his ex’s home with a pistol and stun gun, then waited for her to get home.

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When she got inside, court records show Crawford “punched, kicked, electrically stunned [the victim] numerous times, while telling her that he was going to kill her and her children.”

USAO said the victim defended herself with a dumbbell and was able to escape. Before he left the house, Crawford shot and killed the victim’s dog, an eight-pound Maltese.

The U.S. Department of Justice said in their announcement of the indictment that a neighbor heard the victim screaming and called 911. Then, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office deputies “immediately took Crawford into custody.”

In the house, deputies found an H&K USP .40-caliber pistol on the dining room table and found blood “all over the house, including in the garage, laundry room, bedroom and front entry area.”

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Officials said the victim “sustained severe injuries from the attack, including extensive bruising to her body, neck and face, stun-gun burns, a fractured left orbital bone, nose, ring finger and hand and a laceration to the head that needed stitches.

Crawford admitted to members of law enforcement that he broke into the victim’s home, used a taser on her, punched her in the face and killed her dog, according to the USAO. Search warrants executed on Crawford’s phone showed that before the attack, he searched “do you get the death penalty if you kill a woman,” the Justice Department said.

Crawford was indicted for interstate domestic violence, discharge of a firearm during and in the commission of a crime of violence and interstate stalking.

Sheriff’s office records in Hillsborough County also show that he was charged on Dec. 7, 2023, with attempted murder in the first degree, premeditated, aggravated cruelty to animals with a weapon, armed burglary of a dwelling with assault or battery, aggravated battery with great bodily harm with a deadly weapon and shooting at, within or into a building.

He was ordered to be held without bond, according to sheriff’s office records.

If convicted, Crawford faces at least 10 years in federal prison and potentially a life sentence, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

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