Does accused serial killer, Howell “Trai” Donaldson III have ties to the Seminole Heights neighborhood?

  • Did family as a whole have any connection to neighborhood?
  • Court documents point to a 2016 connection
  • Connection involves former boyfriend of suspect's sister

In a press conference a day after his arrest last month, Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan said they were trying to figure out his ties to the area.

“We have not been able to find a connection his connection to the neighborhood yet. I always felt whoever was doing it was very familiar with the neighborhood,” Dugan said. “We have not been able to determine why he picked southeast Seminole Heights. We’re not sure if he had a friend there that he was staying with. There’s a lot of unanswered questions.”

Days after his arrest, court documents show investigators asked the suspect’s father, Howell Donaldson Jr., if his son had any connection to the Seminole Heights neighborhood, and that Donaldson Jr. refused to answer.

He was then asked if his other two children had ties to the area, and again he refused to answer, according to documents. Investigators say the suspect’s mother Rosita refused to answer questions, too.

Last week the couple had to go before a judge after refusing to answer investigators questions. The couple’s attorney Ralph Fernandez says his clients were put in a bad position.

“Would you testify against your child in a criminal prosecution where your child would face death?” Fernandez said.

After investigating the family’s history, we discovered there is a connection to Seminole Heights.

Court documents show in 2016, Donaldson Jr. filed a petition for injunction for protection against stalking, also known as a restraining order, against his daughter’s boyfriend.

Donaldson Jr. accused the boyfriend of threatening their family and telling Donaldson Jr. if he had a gun he would shoot him. The document also shows that the suspect’s mother, sister and brother were listed on the order of protection, but the suspect’s name is not listed.

We’re not naming the boyfriend because the injunction was denied by a judge. The judge cited that the facts as alleged didn’t meet Florida statues definition of stalking.

However, we did look into the boyfriend’s background and several of his arrest records. Those records show his most recent arrest lists his address at a home in Seminole Heights.

Further, the boyfriend's address is a five-minute walk from where the first victim, Benjamin Mitchell was killed. It’s an eight-minute walk from where the body of the second victim, Monica Hoffa, was found, a four-minute walk from where the third victim, Anthony Naiboa, was murdered and an eight-minute walk from where the fourth victim, Ronald Felton was gunned down.

We asked the state attorney’s office if they were looking into this connection. A spokesperson said they couldn’t confirm or deny if they were looking into this because they don’t reveal case strategy.