Suspect arrested after beloved Florida family man shot, killed in 'cold blood': Eustis police

EUSTIS, Fla. - A suspect has been arrested for the murder of Wseni Laguerre, a beloved family man who was shot and killed in a "targeted act" in Lake County earlier this year, Eustis Police Chief Craig Capri announced during a news conference Thursday.

The crime was reportedly the first murder committed in Eustis in four years.

Austin Hill, 26, was booked into the Lake County jail Wednesday and is facing a charge of first-degree premeditated murder in Laguerre's death, authorities said. He was already in law enforcement custody on a domestic battery charge for allegedly beating a woman with a gun, officials said. 

'Our victim, Wseni Laguerre, was murdered in cold blood by this gentleman right here, Austin Hill," Capri said. 

Investigators did not immediately reveal how they connected Hill to the deadly shooting.

 On Jan. 30, 2023, officers were called out to a home at 202 Palm Avenue in Eustis regarding a person who had been shot and found Laguerre with several gunshot wounds. The 39-year-old man was taken to a hospital and later died of his injuries.

Pictured: Austin Hill (Photo via Lake County Sheriff's Office)

Hill, who already has 17 felony convictions, had been released from jail in November 2022, just months before the murder, according to police. 

Several family members of Laguerre were present at the news conference. A cousin of Laguerre, who described him as a beloved family man, said the victim was home when he was killed.  

"He didn't get shot down in the street. He got shot down in his mom's house," she told reporters. 

Police believe Laguerre and Hill did not know one another. 

"I don't know what the relationship was. I know that he [Hill] knew who he was going to kill," Capri said.

The case remains under investigation.