A man who doused a woman in gasoline and lit her on fire while she was working at a Golden Corral on the Westside in 2016 has pleaded guilty to her murder.
Darryl Whipple entered a guilty plea in Carol Demmons’ murder on Tuesday afternoon.
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Afterward, he was sentenced to life in Florida State Prison without the possibility of parole, according to a release from State Attorney Melissa Nelson’s office.
Action News Jax told you in 2018 when Whipple wrote a lengthy letter to a Judge and the State Attorney explaining he wanted to “pay the ultimate price.”
Whipple entered the Golden Corral on Memorial Park Road on Oct. 12, 2016, while Demmons was working in the bakery area.
A witness told Action News Jax back in 2016 that Demmons and Whipple exchanged words before he came back and attacked her.
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He poured gasoline over her head and back, then pulled out a lighter and set her on fire, the news release said.
Afterward, he walked outside and waited for the police to arrive.
Patrons and employees tried to put the fire out for Demmons. Others apprehended Whipple, who, one witness told Action News Jax in 2016, was armed with a butcher knife.
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When officers arrived, witnesses directed them to Whipple, who was sitting in the parking lot.
Investigators later found that Whipple and Demmons were previously in a relationship.
“Demmons was badly burned, and she was transported to the burn unit at UF Health Gainesville, where she later died from her injuries,” the news release said.
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