In the quiet coastal village of Mayport, Florida, the McMains family was a familiar presence, known for their local restaurant. But in May 2003, a horrifying sequence of events shattered their lives and the community’s sense of peace. Over the course of just a few days, a father and his two adult children were murdered, their deaths part of a killing spree that would only be discovered after a tense police standoff.
The patriarch of the family, Bill McMains, a 60-year-old Male, was the third and final member of his immediate family to be killed.
The violence began on May 14, 2003, inside the Mayport mobile home of Bill's daughter, 30-year-old Irene “Tootie” McMains Wells. During an argument with her husband, William Edward Wells III, Tootie told him she was leaving him. In response, Wells shot and killed her. Later that same day, Tootie’s concerned brother, 32-year-old John S. McMains, went to the home to check on her. There, he discovered his sister's body. When John confronted Wells and demanded he turn himself in, Wells shot him three times, killing him as well.
For three days, the bodies of the siblings remained hidden in the residence. On May 17, their father, Bill McMains, grew worried and went to the home looking for his children. After letting himself in, he too discovered the horrific scene. Wells confronted his father-in-law, who had reportedly grabbed a knife from the kitchen, and shot him in the side of the head. Wells then covered the bodies of his three family members with dirty clothes and sealed the room with duct tape. The killing spree continued, with Wells murdering two other men, Richard Reese, 39, and James Lee Young, 30, in the days that followed, keeping all five bodies inside his home.
The grim truth came to light on May 24, when concern for Bill McMains's whereabouts was reported to the police. The next day, Wells himself contacted authorities, claiming to be holding his and Tootie's four-year-old son hostage. A 12-hour standoff ensued, during which Wells also called a local newspaper and confessed to the murders. He eventually surrendered just after midnight on May 25, and police entered the home to find the five bodies in various stages of decomposition.
At a funeral service for Bill, Irene, and John, family members mourned the devastating loss. Bill's brother, Jack McMains, remembered him as a man who was always fun and lived life with a smile. "He lived life, he was always fun and that's how I'd like my brother to be remembered," he said. Friends recalled John as someone who was loved by many. The three were laid to rest together at Beaches Memorial Park.
William Edward Wells III, who dubbed himself "The Monster of Mayport," pleaded guilty to the five murders. He initially received five consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole. His violence, however, did not end with his imprisonment. Over the following years, Wells was convicted of an attempted murder and two additional murders of fellow inmates, one in 2011 and another in 2019. For the 2019 murder of inmate William Chapman, which Wells stated he committed in hopes of receiving a death sentence, he was finally given the penalty he sought. William Edward Wells III was sentenced to death and is on death row.
