Double Murder Suspect’s Body Identified in Vero Beach, Case Closed

VERO BEACH, Florida — The Vero Beach Police Department announced Thursday that the decomposed body discovered Wednesday in a wooded residential area has been identified as Jesse Scott Ellis, 64, the suspect in the March 24 double homicide of two Indian River County employees.

Police Chief David Currey confirmed the identification was made through dental records. Evidence at the scene on the 2000 block of Cove Drive is consistent with Ellis having died by suicide by hanging from a small tree shortly after the killings of Danny Ooley and Stacie Ellis Mason outside the Indian River County Main Library.

“Based on the circumstances and evidence observed at the scene, investigators believe Ellis died by suicide shortly after the March 24th homicide incident,” Currey said. Due to advanced decomposition, the medical examiner cannot yet make a definitive determination regarding the exact cause and manner of death, though evidence points to an apparent hanging.

The discovery brings closure to an intensive two-month investigation. On March 24, officers located Ooley and Mason deceased in the library parking lot from multiple gunshot wounds. Detectives quickly determined it was a targeted, domestic-related incident involving Ellis. An arrest warrant charging Ellis with two counts of premeditated murder was issued as the investigation expanded to include surveillance footage, witness interviews, search warrants, and forensic analysis.

Ellis’s vehicle was located near South Beach on the afternoon of March 24. Investigators believe that after the shootings, Ellis entered the ocean, re-emerged near the Spires, and was captured on a residential camera around 11:10 a.m. walking south toward South Beach. He was wearing a ball cap with a local electrical company insignia, a graphic t-shirt, and camouflage cargo shorts—clothing consistent with what was seen on earlier surveillance and with wet items found near the body.

The body was discovered by workers performing masonry work on a pool at a residence on Cove Drive, a quiet, dead-end street parallel to A1A north of the 17th Street Causeway. Chief Currey emphasized the location was not “out in the open” but in a densely vegetated area between two homes, with thick undergrowth, oak trees, and palms obscuring visibility from the road.

A belt bearing Ellis’s initials was found at the scene attached to a small tree. No weapons were recovered. Identification was expedited through dental X-rays from a local dentist Ellis had visited in February; DNA analysis is also underway.

“This case is solved,” Currey stated. “We have a body and we can close this in that regard.”

The Chief addressed questions about why the body was not located during earlier extensive searches, noting that similar cases have occurred where remains in wooded, residential-adjacent areas went undetected until discovered by workers. He confirmed that investigative leads, including canine units and coordination with state and federal partners, were pursued diligently.

Currey also discussed improvements to inter-agency communication following earlier reports that fire rescue may have encountered Ellis in the water shortly after the homicides. He noted that Lieutenant Rob Roberts has already initiated meetings with the fire department to enhance information-sharing protocols for noteworthy developments during active investigations.

The motive for the March 24 shootings remains consistent with initial findings: Ellis’s suspicion regarding a relationship between his wife and one of the victims. “Nothing from our investigation has wavered. Nothing has changed,” Currey said.

The Vero Beach Police Department expressed gratitude to law enforcement partners and the community for their support. The families of the victims have requested privacy, a request the department asked the public and media to honor.

“While nothing can undo the pain caused by this senseless act of violence, we hope locating and identifying Ellis provides some measure of closure to those affected,” Currey said.