Bio 

Brian Alpress Hunt was born on May 2, 1949. Most reports describe him as a homeless or transient man who moved between states and associated with other homeless men. He was known in Florida by the early 1990s, when he was charged in the killing of Jacko Poppele, a 44-year-old man in Bonita Springs. Reports state that Hunt beat Poppele with a wine bottle. He was convicted of manslaughter in 1992 and received a four-year prison sentence.

After serving time for the manslaughter conviction, Hunt continued drifting between states. By 1999, reports described him as having last resided in the Delaware state penal system and as being a fugitive from a prison work-release program when he was arrested in Florida in connection with Franklin Boyd’s death. Authorities in Delaware were also said to be reviewing whether Hunt could be connected to the death of a homeless man there, but Hunt had not admitted to any Delaware killing in the reports reviewed.

Hunt’s known criminal history shows a pattern of violence against acquaintances or other homeless men. Lee County sheriff’s spokesman Larry King was quoted in a 1999 report saying that Hunt appeared to become angry with victims, often accusing them of stealing something or owing him money. This pattern was specifically mentioned in connection with Franklin Boyd’s death.

Murder Story

In 1992, Brian Alpress Hunt was involved in the death of Jacko Poppele in Bonita Springs, Florida. Poppele was 44 years old. Reports state that Hunt used a wine bottle to beat Poppele, causing his death. Hunt was charged in the case and later convicted of manslaughter. He was sentenced to four years in prison.

After that conviction, Hunt served part of the sentence and was later released. The next confirmed killing connected to him occurred in Florida in April 1999. By that time, Hunt was again described as homeless and was living around Bonita Springs. The victim, Franklin C. Boyd, was also described as homeless or transient.

According to the 1999 report, Hunt believed that Boyd owed him $15. Hunt allegedly went to a makeshift shelter where Boyd was sleeping and woke him up. An argument followed. During the confrontation, Hunt choked Boyd, stabbed him repeatedly with a screwdriver, and then struck him with a cinder block. Reports state that Boyd was stabbed 19 times.

After Boyd’s killing, Hunt turned himself in to authorities. He was held in the Lee County Jail on a first-degree murder charge. While he was being questioned about the Florida murder, investigators said Hunt also gave information about two earlier deaths in Nashville, Tennessee.

Hunt reportedly drew maps that led Nashville police to skeletal remains near railroad tracks close to downtown. Police found one body on one day and another the next day. At the time, authorities said the victims appeared to have been beaten to death and may have been killed months apart during the summer of 1996. Reports also stated that police had not known the men were missing before Hunt gave the information.

Later secondary listings identify the suspected Tennessee victims as Thomas Edward Skeens, age 50, and Johnny Cecil Rogers, age 48. Both are listed as suspected victims, not confirmed murder convictions. No reliable record was found showing that Hunt was formally convicted in Tennessee for those two deaths. Because of that, they should be included only as suspected or alleged victims unless additional official court records are located.

Authorities also looked at a possible Delaware connection. A 1999 report stated that Delaware investigators were checking whether Hunt might be connected to the death of a homeless man there. Hunt had not admitted to a Delaware killing in the available reports, and no confirmed Delaware conviction was found in the accessible sources reviewed.

In Florida, Hunt eventually resolved the Franklin Boyd case through a no-contest plea. A News-Press / Naples Daily News report from May 2000 stated that Hunt pleaded no contest to first-degree murder in exchange for a life sentence. During sentencing, he reportedly apologized but maintained that he had no memory of committing the crime.

Hunt was sentenced to life imprisonment in Florida. Later reported that he died in Florida on October 13, 2009, at age 60.