Crime & Safety

Ultimate Late-Night Surprise Leads To Shooting of Riverview Man

The suspect said he went into his kitchen for a drink. Deputies say what he saw next led him to shoot a man who lived in Riverview.

A 70-year-old Brandon man faces a second-degree murder charge, after deputies say he confessed to fatally shooting a Riverview man having sexual intercourse with his 42-year-old wife in the couple's home.

Ralph Lewis Wald, 70, was arrested after the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office says he called 911 and told a dispatcher that he just shot the victim for "fornicating" with his wife.

According to a written statement from the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, he also confessed to the shooting after being read his Miranda rights.

Wald told authorities he awoke shortly before midnight Sunday and went to get a drink in the kitchen. He said that he saw the two in the living room having sex.

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Wald told investigators that he returned to his bedroom and grabbed his firearm, shooting the victim several times, according the Sheriff's Office. The couple's home is on Clara Drive, North of Brandon Boulevard, in Brandon.

Walter Lee Copley, 32, who lived on Lovers Lane in Riverview, died at the scene, according to deputies. Wald's wife was not injured in the shooting.

The suspect waited at the scene for deputies to arrive and was taken into
custody without incident, deputies said.


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