Prosecutors are retracing Vickie Williams’ movements before the deaths and pointing to forensic evidence and the couple’s vehicle recovered in Georgia.
TAVARES, Fla. — Nearly four years after Darryl and Sharon Getman were killed in their Mount Dora home, prosecutors are using surveillance, forensic findings, witness testimony and the couple’s stolen Kia to reconstruct the final hours leading to their deaths.
Vickie Williams is on trial on two counts of first-degree murder and one count of grand theft in the Dec. 31, 2022, deaths of Darryl Getman, 83, and Sharon Getman, 80. The couple lived at Waterman Village, a senior living community in Mount Dora. Prosecutors say Williams moved through the area before entering the Getmans’ home, killing them and leaving in their vehicle. Her attorneys are pursuing an insanity defense and argue that severe mental illness affected her ability to understand her actions.
The prosecution’s case begins before Williams reached the Getmans’ home. Evidence presented in court describes a series of encounters in the Mount Dora area as Williams moved among public places and residential properties. Prosecutors showed video from the day before the killings in which police encountered Williams at a hotel and she was later trespassed from the property. Authorities have also said she was seen around Waterman Village and was removed from the property by security.
Investigators said Williams later returned to the retirement community. Police reports described an encounter in which she knocked on another resident’s door and asked to take a shower. Security was alerted, and Williams left. Surveillance evidence became an important part of the investigation as detectives worked to determine her movements around the community before the Getmans were found.
Prosecutors say Williams eventually entered the Getmans’ residence. During the first day of trial testimony, jurors heard from residents, security personnel, law enforcement officers and a medical examiner. The medical examiner testified that both victims died from multiple stab wounds. Prosecutors also began presenting the physical evidence they say connects Williams to the residence.
Earlier investigative records said a palm or fingerprint recovered from the Getmans’ home was matched to Williams. Other reporting on the case has described DNA and additional forensic evidence recovered during the investigation. Prosecutors are expected to use those findings alongside surveillance footage and witness accounts to argue that Williams was inside the home when the couple was killed.
The couple’s green Kia Soul became another key part of the investigation. Surveillance showed the vehicle leaving Waterman Village after the killings, according to investigators. Authorities later located it in Savannah, Georgia, where Williams was found with the vehicle. Mount Dora police initially identified her as a person of interest and arranged for her return to Lake County while detectives continued developing the homicide case.
Investigators said Williams gave a different account of how she obtained the Kia. During questioning, she said a friend had given her the vehicle and told investigators she had been in Savannah rather than Mount Dora when the killings occurred. Police also showed her surveillance images from Waterman Village, and investigators said she denied that she was the woman pictured.
Authorities continued collecting evidence after Williams was returned to Florida. The Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney’s Office announced in January 2023 that a grand jury had indicted her on two counts of first-degree murder and one count of grand theft. The office said investigators from Mount Dora police, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Lake County Sheriff’s Office worked together on the case and that crime-lab analysis helped link Williams to the scene.
The case then spent years in pretrial proceedings, in part because of questions about Williams’ competency. A judge ruled her incompetent to proceed in May 2024. After treatment and another evaluation, a court later found that she had regained sufficient ability to understand the proceedings and assist her lawyers, allowing the case to move toward trial.
Those competency findings do not resolve the defense now before the jury. Williams’ attorneys say she was suffering from schizophrenia and psychosis at the time of the Getmans’ deaths and are asking for a verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity. Prosecutors acknowledge her mental illness but argue that her behavior shows she understood what she was doing. They have pointed to her movements after the killings, including her return toward Savannah in the Getmans’ vehicle, as evidence of purposeful conduct.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty if Williams is convicted of first-degree murder. As testimony continues, jurors are expected to hear more evidence about the forensic investigation, Williams’ movements before and after the killings and her mental condition at the time. Williams is presumed innocent unless the state proves the charges beyond a reasonable doubt.
Author note: Last updated Sept. 15, 2026.