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Russell Tillis is a convicted murderer who was found guilty of beating Joni Lynn Gunter to death before chopping up her body and burying the parts in separate holes in the backyard of his Jacksonville, Florida, home, often described as a house of horrors. He is now serving two life sentences in prison.
Reports state that Tillis was first arrested in 2015 after a wild chase with police in his booby-trapped yard. Then, in December of the following year, he was charged with kidnapping and murder after confessing to an inmate about Gunter's murder. The victim's body parts were later discovered during a search of his property.
Prior to his arrest, Tillis had a lengthy criminal record and was a troublemaker in the neighborhood, with multiple neighbors filing protection orders against him over the course of four years. He also exhibited disturbing and unsettling behavior.
Evil Lives Here on ID is slated to chronicle the crimes of Russell Tillis and look closely into his Jacksonville-based house of horrors in an episode titled He Had a Torture Chamber. The official synopsis states:
"When Terry Patzer hears what police discovered at Russell Tillis' house of horrors, memories of the nine years she spent married to him flood back; she can't explain how her former lover became so twisted, but she was right to be afraid."
The all-new episode will air on the channel this Sunday, September 3, 2023, at 9 pm ET.
Russell Tillis had a lengthy criminal record and often terrorized his Jacksonville, Florida, community
According to The Cinemaholic, Russell Tillis had a lengthy criminal record when he was first arrested in 2015 on multiple counts, including aggravated assault, battery of a law enforcement officer, and making threats.
Tillis had previously been sentenced to prison on the grounds of child abuse and lewd or lascivious battery in 2006 and even faced other counts in later years, including s*xual battery and sodomy involving an alleged assault on a s*x worker. These charges were, however, dropped.
The outlet reported that his crimes peaked in 2012 following the passing of his mother, soon after which he inherited the family home. He reigned terror in the Southside neighborhood of Jacksonville, Florida.
Several neighbors had filed restraining and protection orders against Tillis. One of the neighbors, Annette Campbell, claimed that, including her, there were a couple of others who had filed restraining orders as there "would be constant women in and out over there." Campbell further said,
"Some of them would run over to my property and bang on my door, crying for help. We lived in constant fear with him there."
Reports state that in February 2015, another neighbor requested protection due to Tillis' constant stalking. In fact, that same month, he was jailed on a stalking offense and served a week in prison before being released.
After his arrest, Russell Tillis confessed to an inmate about the murder and dismemberment of a woman
The Florida Times Union reported that a thorough investigation into Russell Tillis' alleged crimes began in May 2015, when officers arrested him from his 3551 Bowden Circle East home. The 55-year-old troublemaker was taken into custody after officers chased him into his booby-trapped yard with razor blades and half-buried boards studded with nails.
At the time, Tillis was charged with aggravated assault and battery on officers. Then, in December 2016, he was arrested on new charges of murder and kidnapping while still in lockup after allegedly confessing to an inmate named Sammy Evans about killing and dismembering a woman and burying her in his backyard.
The outlet stated that police searched his mobile home and fenced backyard for three days, where they found four separate holes with the buried human remains belonging to a missing s*x worker with a history of drug abuse, Joni Lynn Gunter. She was 30 years old at the time of her death and reportedly died of blunt-force trauma sometime between February 2014 and May 2015.
Police believe Tillis had murdered other potential victims and even released a faded Polaroid snapshot collected from his house in hopes of identifying the individual in the picture, but to no avail.
Russell Tillis was charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping, human trafficking, abuse of a dead body, evidence tampering, and kidnapping with intent to terrorize or cause bodily harm in connection with Joni Lynn Gunter's killing. He pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The Cinemaholic reported that Tillis' delayed trial began in 2021, when the accused claimed that the confession he made to Evans was bogus because he wanted to get the death penalty because he was depressed. Tillis testified that she had even attempted suicide in an attempt to die.
In April 2021, the killer was found guilty of premeditated murder, kidnapping, and abuse of a dead body. He was handed two life sentences.
The case against Russell Tillis will be revisited on ID's Evil Lives Here this Sunday.
