HOLMES COUNTY, Fla. (WDHN) — Three people have been charged for the death of a Jackson County man that went missing around three weeks ago.

According to a Jackson County agent, this began as a sexual assault investigation in Jackson County in May after a woman said she was raped by Gordon resident William Shane Parker. Two months after initially reporting her rape, the victim told an investigator that she learned that her roommate, Raul Ambriz Guillen, was murdered but could not confirm it.

While investigating Guillen’s disappearance, the JCSO began working the case with the Houston County Sheriff’s Office to follow any potential leads.

Eventually, a break in the case led authorities to believe that Guillen had been killed in Holmes County, prompting the JCSO to seek the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office for assistance.

Raul Ambriz Guillen

“Basically, what we learned is they had been working a missing person’s case for a couple weeks, two or three weeks, and information had revealed that possibly the homicide had occurred in our county and also the body had been buried in our county,” Holmes County Sheriff John Tate said.

Eventually, investigators tracked Guillen’s last known whereabouts to the home of Jeremie Odell Peters, 43, on Highway 171 in Graceville. It was believed that Guillen had been there with Peters, Parker, and Parker’s girlfriend, 23-year-old Lauren Kay Wambles of Dothan.

Investigators searched Peters’ home and another home on Highway 171 and discovered evidence related to the homicide at both scenes.

The Bay County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue then brought cadaver dogs, which found a burial site off of Kirkland Road. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement then found Guillen’s body after excavating the area.

However, before law enforcement could inform Guillen’s next of kin, they learned of his death after a premature news report by another outlet went on social media.

“I spoke with the victim’s family this morning, his daughter, because somehow she found out about us finding the body on social media rather than law enforcement, which she was kind of upset about, but I explained to her that, you know, it wasn’t law enforcement that done that, and those of (the media) that helped us and didn’t spread the word, we appreciate that very much because we don’t ever want that to happen to the family that has lost a loved one,” Tate said.

All three people are in various jails for the crime. They are charged with the following:

  • William Shane Parker — Charged with an open count of murder; currently held in Jackson County Correctional Facility awaiting extradition to Holmes
  • Lauren Kay Wambles — Charged with being a principle to murder; held in the Houston County Jail while awaiting extradition
  • Jeremie Odell Peters — Charged with being an accessory after the fact and abuse of a corpse. He is in the Holmes County Jail.

The investigation is still open, and there is a possibility of more arrests in this case.

This was a joint effort between Holmes County Sheriff’s Office, Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Houston County Sheriff’s Office, Bay County Sheriff’s Office Search and Rescue, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the 14th Judicial Circuit Medical Examiner’s Office and State Attorney’s Office.