Andie Morrell, 37, a Black / African American woman, was found dead on September 19, 2025, in a vacant lot off the 1500 block of North 39th Street in Tampa. Officers first responding from the Tampa Police Department discovered her body there; detectives soon determined the killing had not happened at the dump site but at a residence on the 9400 block of Polak Drive in unincorporated Hillsborough County, where investigators reported finding blood evidence indicating the murder occurred inside
the home.
As the investigation unfolded, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office detectives identified a 17-year-old, Justin Hawker, as the suspect and took him into custody the next day. Authorities announced he was charged with second-degree murder with a firearm, and that the agencies worked in tandem after the discovery in Tampa led them to the home outside city limits.
Prosecutors later said that before his arrest, the teenager placed a 911 call saying he was “involved in a homicide,” after an earlier account he gave—claiming he had been out stargazing—did not hold up. Reporting based on court documents adds that Andie Morrell, 37, was found wrapped in bedding and duct tape when her body was recovered behind a building, details that further supported investigators’ conclusion that she had been killed elsewhere and transported to the lot.
In subsequent court proceedings, a judge ordered the suspect held without bond while the case moves forward. Public accounts and memorial listings have identified the victim as Andie Morrell, 37, killed by gunfire in Tampa, and local and national outlets continue to track the case as charging decisions progress.
