On July 11, 1983, the body of 41-year-old white female Linda Toni Lansen was discovered in the Town ‘n’ Country area of Hillsborough County, Florida. A jogger came across her partially clothed remains near the dead end of Old Memorial Highway, west of Sheldon Road. An autopsy revealed that she had been sexually assaulted and shot four times in the head. Her death was ruled a homicide. The day before, Linda had left her apartment near Sligh Avenue and Rowlett Park Drive in Tampa for unknown reasons and never returned. Her car was later found abandoned on a residential street near Manhattan Avenue and I-275, and her purse was recovered by the side of a road in Clearwater.
Linda Toni Lansen, a white woman born on May 14, 1942, had been working as a freelance photographer and was a single mother. At the time of her death, she had recently taken a job as the official photographer for Playboy’s Bunny of the Year contest, which was held at the Suncoast Play Club in St.
Petersburg. Her daughter was staying with her ex-husband that weekend, allowing Linda to attend the event alone. She never made it home.
The murder of 41-year-old white female Linda Toni Lansen remained unsolved for decades. However, investigators later connected her case to the murder of 19-year-old Barbara Grams, another white female who was found dead in Tampa in August 1983 under similar circumstances. Both women had been sexually assaulted and murdered, and the similarities in their cases led authorities to believe they were linked.
Years later, DNA evidence helped identify two suspects: Amos Robinson and Abron Scott. Both men were eventually convicted for the murder of Barbara Grams, and investigators believe they were also responsible for the death of Linda Toni Lansen. The connection between the two cases was highlighted in a true crime documentary, which detailed how advancements in forensic science ultimately brought justice to the victims and their families. Despite the passage of time, the resolution of these cases underscored the persistence of law enforcement in solving cold cases.
