William Agee was 36 years old when he was murdered. His body was found buried in a shallow grave in Brevard County, Florida, more than 45 years ago, and the person responsible for his death has yet to be brought to justice.
In 1972, Agee, a Tennessee native who was married but had been separated from his wife for five years, “left his job of six years as a steward aboard the S.S. Huntsville docked in Port Canaveral” and moved to Melbourne, where he began working in the sanitation department, Florida Today reported.
After seven months of employment, he was fired for missing too many days of work. A little over two months later, on Dec. 23, 1972, Agee was reported missing from his home in the 2000 block of South Maine St.
Two days later, on Dec. 25, 1972, his vehicle, a white 1961 convertible, was found abandoned near Dublin, Georgia.
Harold Morman, a Georgia Bureau of Investigation agent, said, “There was a tremendous amount of blood in the car. We found a hunk of blonde hair that appeared to be a woman.”
It was reported that the vehicle, which was locked when it was discovered, was littered with empty whiskey bottles, cigarette butts, and beer cans.
A “woman’s near-empty purse containing a snapshot of a woman and a man was found in the car, along with an old suitcase,” Morman said.
On the afternoon of Jan. 2, 1973, William Agee was found dead. The crane operator, working in an area about 100 feet from a deserted roadway near the SR 46 and I-95 intersection, just west of Mims, encountered the nude body of a male.
The body was later identified through fingerprints as that of Agee, and it was buried in six to 12 inches of soil, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
A pair of socks and shorts were also found within the vicinity of his body, police said.
An autopsy revealed that Agee died from two gunshot wounds to the head.
Evidence at the scene suggested that Agee was killed on New Year’s weekend, or four to eight days before his body was found, according to the Miami Herald.
Investigators worked diligently to find Agee’s killer, but ultimately, his case turned cold.
Anyone with information regarding the unsolved murder of William Agee is encouraged to contact the Brevard County Sheriff’s Office at (321) 633-8413 or contact CRIMELINE at 1-800-423-TIPS.
Tipsters may receive a reward of up to $5,000.