The family and friends of 25-year-old Lakeland resident Sephanie Ross are in shock after her murder in Dade City Monday.
Police there say 53-year-old Lucious Smith stabbed Ross while she was delivering medical paperwork to his home. Smith has an extensive criminal record including violence. Dade City Police describe Smith as a difficult, rage-filled person.
Stephanie Ross is a graduate of Lakeland High school and had been employed at the school this fall to work one-on-one with a special needs student. Principal Tracy Collins said Ross was a sweet young woman who wanted to make a career of helping people.
"She was a selfless person and as tragic and horrific as this death is, she felt she was doing something she was called to do," said Collins.
Ross had left her work at the school in September to take a job with a company called Integra Health Management. The company said Ross was a service coordinator who helped people make sure they got the mental health and physical health care they needed.
Ross's mother Janet Svaral tells Bay News 9 that she spoke with her daughter this past Saturday and that Ross had expressed some concern about her on-the-job safety.
Dee Brown, the chief operating officer for Integra Health Management, said that Ross had not communicated concerns about her safety to the company.
She also said that Ross had been given adequate training and could have asked for extra help with Smith.
"I do not know of any of those concerns. She did not raise those to our supervisory team. So I have reviewed all information that she had back and forth," said Brown.
Dade City police officer Brian Uppercue said one of the department's investigators got a look at some of Stephanie Ross's case files. He said that in a file Ross wrote she felt uneasy with Smith after her first visit and that caseworkers visiting Smith in the future should go as a team.
Smith is being held in the Pasco County Jail without bond.