Vigil held for slain Casselberry teen

CASSELBERRY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Family and friends of a 17-year-old homicide victim are hoping to get the case back in the public eye. 

Bryce Williams was shot and killed at Lake Hodge Park in Casselberry on New Year’s Day. His grandmother, who raised him, remembers getting to the scene. 

“That’s when they said, ‘Bryce was gone.’ I thought they were lying and you know…. Yeah,” she said. 

Casselberry Police say it was just after 8:00 p.m. when three or four people approached Williams’ car. His best friend, Matthew Mowder, was in the back seat. 

“Opened the door, aimed the gun at him and shot him. Not a word, not an exchange. Nothing. Not even a second between the door opening and the gun coming in,” Mowder explained. 

Investigators say Williams tried to drive away but he ended up hitting a house. When officers arrived, he was dead. 
More than five months later, who pulled the trigger, is still a mystery. 

“It was definitely difficult to get through but now I feel like the tables have turned and I’m putting that to work,” said Williams’ friend, Kailyn Caban. 

Friends and family are channeling their emotions into getting answers. They’ve started a Facebook page, and are passing out car magnets and fliers. 

“The goal is that hopefully the right people will see what we’re trying to do. We know people know things – so we’re trying to let them know that it’s okay to speak,” Caban said. 

“He’s only 17, he hadn’t even started living his life. We owe it to him to find out who stole all of this from him,” Crow said. 

Casselberry Police say they don’t think this was a robbery. They say there was a small amount of marijuana in Williams’ car. The case is still active and open.