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Affair revealed as police conclude Davis Islands shooting investigation

 
Andrew Noll, 23, and Mishay Simpson, 28, pose together in this image that Tampa police recovered during their investigation of the shooting.
Andrew Noll, 23, and Mishay Simpson, 28, pose together in this image that Tampa police recovered during their investigation of the shooting.
Published Oct. 21, 2014

TAMPA — Late one night in August, Mishay Simpson shot Andrew Noll after he walked into her Davis Islands home unannounced. Simpson, the wife of semiprofessional golfer Rhett Simpson, later told investigators that Noll was a former friend who had been stalking her and threatening to hurt her family.

When the home's alarm went off and she heard someone coming up the stairs, she grabbed a 9mm Ruger. When the door opened, she fired.

A bullet sliced through Noll's chest and exited his back, piercing a painting on the wall behind him.

Noll, 23, survived the shooting. But there was much more to the story than what Simpson, 28, told police.

Among the things she omitted: She and Noll had an affair.

The tawdry details of the discreet relationship are detailed in a Tampa police report of the Aug. 19 shooting. The report was released Monday after the Hillsborough State Attorney's Office declined to bring any criminal charges.

Simpson told police that she and her husband met Noll about six months before the shooting at Liquid, an Ybor City gay club, where Noll worked as a bartender.

Witnesses said Simpson kept the relationship secret by referring to Noll as her "gay friend," according to the report.

Robert Odom, a man identified in the police report as Noll's former roommate, arrived at Tampa General Hospital after Noll was shot. Odom told detectives that he was a father figure to Noll, whom he described as "a little slow" and suffering from "emotional problems."

When Noll still lived with him, Simpson visited their apartment several times, Odom said. At least once, he heard them having sex, according to the report.

"The only person in Tampa that does not know about the affair is Mishay's husband," Odom told police.

When things turned sour with Simpson, Odom told Noll to save all text messages and emails he got from Simpson. Noll did.

Detectives searched Noll's cellphone, email and apartment. What they found was a treasure trove of lurid material, including sexually explicit images of Noll and Simpson.

In one picture, they stand together in her master bathroom, holding a handmade sign that reads "Trophy Boy Andrew N." In another, Noll lies nude on a bed with a tattoo of a pair of lips visible on his buttocks alongside the name "Mishay."

Detectives learned that Mishay paid the rent for Noll's apartment in Davis Islands.

Their texts revealed that Simpson gave Noll the code for the home's alarm system, allowing him to come and go. He told detectives that he would regularly come to the house when her husband was gone and deactivate the alarm.

In text messages, he wrote about wanting to be with Simpson and her daughter as a family.

"So you wanna spend the rest of your life with me baby?" he asked.

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"One day. If u change," Simpson replied. "I hope u do. The day u change I will leave him for u."

A few weeks before the shooting, Simpson tried to break things off. She told Noll that she had sex with her husband and that Noll would have to start supporting himself, according to the report. Noll responded with incessant phone calls and more than 55 text messages. A week before the shooting, she sought an injunction for protection against Noll.

In the hours before the shooting, he texted her again. She said her husband was out of town and she was going to bed. Noll later told police that he interpreted that to mean it was okay to come over. He tried entering the alarm code, but it didn't work.

The alarm sounded as he headed upstairs. When she fired, he could smell the gunpowder.

As he lay bleeding, Noll raised the phone and snapped a selfie.

Contact Dan Sullivan at dsullivan@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3386. Follow @TimesDan.