After a nearly four-year investigation, Stuart Earl Mauney was convicted and handed a life sentence for the 2021 murder, a testament to relentless detective work.
Stuart Earl Mauney, a 69-year-old Florida man, was sentenced to life in prison on Thursday, July 10, 2025, by Circuit Court Judge Layne Smith, following his conviction for Second-Degree Murder in Wakulla County. The sentencing concludes an extensive investigation by the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office into the 2021 killing of a man on Purify Bay Road.
Mauney’s conviction came on May 21, 2025, after a jury found him guilty of the murder. The case began on December 12, 2021, when a citizen discovered a deceased male on the dirt portion of Purify Bay Road, near the entrance to the St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge, and reported it to authorities. Responding deputies found two large standard poodles running loose at the scene, an detail that would later prove crucial in the investigation.
Detectives from the Criminal Investigations Division (CID) of the Wakulla County Sheriff’s Office quickly determined the victim had died from gunshot wounds. Evidence collected at the scene included tire and shoe impressions, the victim’s cell phone, and multiple spent shell casings…