Advertisement

Tampa man fatally shot mother after pushing her from walker, brother says

Timmy Allen Keene, 61, shot his mother in the head and fired at his brother, too, but missed, court documents say.
 
Timmy Allen Keene, 61, is shown in a booking photo after he was arrested in Polk County on Dec. 4. According to newly-released court documents, Keene confessed to shooting his elderly mother Mary Keene and trying to shoot his brother Raymond Keene, Jr. on Dec. 2 at the family's home on Tanner Road in Tampa.
Timmy Allen Keene, 61, is shown in a booking photo after he was arrested in Polk County on Dec. 4. According to newly-released court documents, Keene confessed to shooting his elderly mother Mary Keene and trying to shoot his brother Raymond Keene, Jr. on Dec. 2 at the family's home on Tanner Road in Tampa. [ Polk County Sheriff's Office ]
Published Dec. 14, 2020|Updated Dec. 14, 2020

TAMPA — Timmy Allan Keene threatened to kill his elderly mother and brother, told them they’d better not sleep and asked if they could hear him sharpening his knife, court records say.

It was 9 mm pistol, not a knife, that Keene used Dec. 2 to kill his mother Mary Keene and shoot at his brother Raymond Keene Jr., who narrowly escaped injury at the family’s home on Tanner Road, according to court documents released Monday.

Timmy Keene, 61, was arrested two days later in Polk County and confessed to shooting his mother and trying to shoot his brother, according to a motion filed by prosecutors who seek to hold him in jail pending the outcome of his trial. A grand jury on Thursday indicted Keene on charges of first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.

The pre-trial detention motion includes previously unreleased details about the shooting, including the names of the victims and their relationship to Keene.

Raymond Keene told Hillsborough sheriff’s detectives that he, his brother and mother lived together at the house in the 10200 block of Tanner Road. The day of the shooting, Timmy Keene and his mother got into an argument that lasted about 45 minutes.

“During the argument, the Defendant made several threats to both victims that he was going to kill them and they better not sleep tonight,” the motion says. “The Defendant told both victims, ‘you can hear me sharpening my knife, right?’ ”

Timmy Keene then pushed his mother to the floor, away from the walker she used in the house, according to the motion. When Raymond Keene tried to help her, Timmy Keene went to his bedroom, got a 9 mm Keltac pistol, pointed it at Raymond’s head and fired at least one round. He missed.

Fearing for his life, Raymond Keene ran to the front door. As he unlocked the door to escape, he looked back at his mother, who was still on the ground with Timmy Keene standing directly over her. Then, the motion says, Raymond saw his brother fire at least one shot directly into Mary Keene’s head.

Timmy Keene then chased after Raymond, firing rounds at him, according to the motion. Raymond Keene was able to get to a neighbor’s home about 4:20 p.m. to call 911. Timmy Keene left in his white Ford Explorer.

Investigators found spent 9 mm shell casings in the home and, in Timmy Keene’s bedroom, a machete on the bed, an opened gun case, a Keltec pistol and a magazine loaded with seven rounds. Detectives confirmed that the pistol was used in the shooting, the motion says.

Authorities found Timmy Keene two days later at a hotel in Bartow. Detectives learned by interviewing motel staff that Keene had arrived there about three hours after the shooting and had been staying there since.

“The Defendant was later interviewed by detectives and confessed to murdering his mother and attempting to murder his brother,” the motion says.

Mary Keene was 82, according to an online death notice from Hillsboro Memorial Funeral Home. The notice includes no other details.

Spend your days with Hayes

Subscribe to our free Stephinitely newsletter

Columnist Stephanie Hayes will share thoughts, feelings and funny business with you every Monday.

You’re all signed up!

Want more of our free, weekly newsletters in your inbox? Let’s get started.

Explore all your options

In the motion, prosecutors say a judge should order Keene to be held without bail because he has already shown he’s a flight risk and as a defendant in a capital murder case “may possibly end up facing a sentence of death and, as such, now has even more reason to attempt to flee the jurisdiction.”

A hearing on the motion is set for 9 a.m. Tuesday.