While Hurricane Ian raged, Florida Keys deputies dealt with a murder and a kidnapping

As Florida Keys sheriff’s deputies braced for Hurricane Ian this week, they also had to deal with the murder of a man and the kidnapping of a toddler.

Monroe County detectives arrested 42-year-old Shane Wellington Wilson on a homicide charge in the death of William Shook, who was found unresponsive and critically injured lying among shopping carts in the parking lot of a CVS pharmacy in Big Pine Key two days earlier.

When Shook died from his injuries on Thursday at HCA Florida Kendall Hospital, detectives booked Wilson, who was already in county jail on an aggravated battery charge, on murder, said Monroe County sheriff’s office spokesman Adam Linhardt.

Both men are homeless living in Big Pine Key, about 30 miles from Key West.

On Tuesday, the day of the attack, “multiple witnesses” told deputies Wilson showed them a pair of bloody pliers and told them he beat Shook, who was 50, according to the sheriff’s office.

“Detectives found Wilson Tuesday afternoon not far from the incident location and arrested him,” Linhardt said.

Wilson is being held in jail on $500,000 bond. He’s scheduled to appear before a judge Oct. 7 to answer the second-degree murder charge.

Kidnapping

Two people were arrested on kidnapping charges this week after sheriff’s office deputies pulled over a car in the Middle Keys city of Marathon Wednesday and found 49-year-old Zita Gasperik sitting in the passenger’s seat holding a 16-month-old child on her lap

Jan Hans Gasperik, also 49, was driving the car, and deputies arrested him Thursday on the same charges on which they booked his wife the day before — kidnapping and child neglect, Linhardt said.

The child was taken from the breakfast room of the Fairfield Inn & Suites hotel where both the mother and Zita Gasperik work, according to the sheriff’s office.

The mother called police around 8:30 a.m. Wednesday to report the child was taken. According to the sheriff’s office, Zita Gasperik told the mother repeatedly how cute the child was, and at one point said, “this baby is mine today.”

She carried the child to the breakfast room, and when the mother followed her, she found both Zita Gasperik and the toddler gone from the property.

“The child was not in a car seat at the time when Hurricane Ian was making its way past Monroe County, creating more dangerous than normal driving conditions,” Linhardt said. “The child was not harmed.”

Zita Gasperik remains in county jail. Her bond information and legal representation were not immediately available. Jan Gasperik was released from jail early Friday morning after posting $130,000 bond.

The office of Seth LaVey, Jan Gasperik’s attorney, declined to comment on the case.