New Details in the Melinda McCormick Murder

We have new details on what happened to a Pensacola woman who was found inside a burning apartment.

Escambia County deputies have released the results of the autopsy. The autopsy shows 33-year-old Melinda McCormick was brutally beaten with three different weapons, and then her home was set on fire. This weekend, three people were arrested for McCormick’s death. Gregory Williams, Keisha Pugh, and Anthony Pressley are all charged with first degree murder and armed robbery.

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{snip} The sheriff says the autopsy pictures are the worst he has ever seen. Investigators say Melinda McCormick let the suspects inside her home because she knew all three of them. Gregory Williams was her boyfriend, but she had no idea what they had planned.

A crime so heinous it brings tears to Serena Semkoff’s eyes. Investigators say her neighbor, Melinda McCormick was beaten by a hammer, crow bar and a lead pipe, and then the suspects set her sheets on fire to try and destroy the body, but left the hammer behind.

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What were they after? Investigators say it was a plot to steal McCormick’s social security benefits.

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State Attorney, Bill Eddins, also says it was fueled by hate. One of the suspects says he did it because he hated white people.

Bill Eddins “That aspect should be evaluated as heinous atrocious and cruel and that will be used to see whether or not we seek the death penalty….”

It was the surveillance video at the apartments that led investigators to the three suspects. Deputies say all three admitted to the crime. They also told deputies McCormick was begging them to stop. {snip}

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[Editor’s Note: A video report of this story is available at the original article link below.]