Cold Case Files: Timothy Chipley Homicide Remains Unsolved

In early 2008, Timothy Chipley was headed to Thailand for a three-week trip with a co-worker.

A few days before he was scheduled to leave, the martial arts expert with an easy smile went bar-hopping, ending up at a popular pub called O'Briens.

But the 34-year-old never made it to his Carrollwood home.

His body was found in a pond at Countrywood Apartments off north Dale Mabry Highway just south of Fletcher Avenue.

His case is one of hundreds of unsolved homicide cases that the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is hoping to close. In Carrollwood, the number of unsolved homicides is difficult to determine due to a number of factors, including geographical boundaries and an outdated list of unsolved cases on the sheriff's office's website.

Of the 90 unsolved homicide cases listed on the website, about seven — including Timothy's — fall under the boundaries Patch adheres to for Carrollwood: Gaither High School on the northern end, Linebaugh Avenue on the southern end, the Veterans Expressway on the western end and Interstate 275 on the eastern end.

Three years after he was killed in Carrollwood, Timothy's case is one that continues to haunt detectives looking for clues.

"I think there's somebody out there with information," said Detective Mitch Messer, who was working in the homicide unit of the sheriff's office when Timothy was killed. "I'm hoping this starts a fire under someone to share what information they have."

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Timothy's entrance into the world was almost as tough as his unexpected exit.

He was born to an unwed mother with the umbilical chord wrapped around his neck on May 2, 1973. That caused doctors to limit his potential, saying that he wouldn't mentally develop beyond the level of a 6-year-old.

Seven months later, Timothy was taken in by Judy Chipley and her husband. Judy had four children from a previous marriage but was unable to have more. She and her husband adopted Timothy in 1975.

"It took us 30 seconds to fall madly in love with him," said Chipley, who now lives in Georgia.

Timothy defied medical odds and graduated in 1991 from Chamberlain High, where he played baseball and football.

After high school, Timothy had no idea what he wanted to do with his life, Judy said.

He eventually went to college on a baseball scholarship and graduated from Warner Southern College in Lake Wales. Afterward, he got married and later divorced.

He moved back to Tampa, where he worked in the warehouse for Nuccio air conditioning company.

"Fishing, football and women were his hobbies, in that order," Judy Chipley said.

Another was martial arts.

Messer said Timothy headed to the bar on Jan. 26 and was supposed to leave for the martial arts-related Thailand trip four days later, on Jan. 30.

"He was trying to hook up with a lady at O'Brien's around 2:40 a.m. on Jan. 27," Messer said. "(Meanwhile), the lady was trying to meet up with a male friend."

The male friend never showed up at the bar, Messer said.

And Timothy never showed up for work the following Monday, Jan. 28, Messer said. That's when he was reported missing to the sheriff's office.

The following day, one of Timothy's roommates called Judy Chipley to let her know that her son was nowhere to be found.

At that moment, Chipley's maternal instincts kicked in.

"I knew he was gone," she said. "I just felt it. I can't explain why."

It's unclear as to exactly when Timothy was killed, Messer said, but it was sometime between Jan. 27 and Feb. 1, the day his body was found in the pond, face up and fully-clothed.

The pond is in close proximity to the apartment of the anonymous male friend, Messer said, who was questioned but never ruled out as a suspect. Officials won't release his name.

His cause of death was not released, but Messer said that Timothy died of upper body trauma. Chipley said her son's death certificate said he had been asphyxiated.

"The question has yet to be answered," said Messer, "as to why he was in the apartment complex."

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In Carrollwood and Northdale, homicides are rare, according to officials at the sheriff's office.

The sprawling area of north Tampa, with its busy business corridors and suburban subdivisions, is divided by the sheriff's office into two districts, 1 and 3. The former includes Northdale, and the latter is Original Carrollwood and anything south of Fletcher Avenue.

Maj. Ray Lawton, who heads District 3, said Carrollwood is more known for property crimes and residential burglaries than serious crimes like homicides.

Maj. J.R. Burton, who heads District 1, said Carrollwood is known for being a stable residential area with close-knit neighborhoods, accounting for its low crime rate.

Burton, who used to work in the homicide unit, remembered the anomaly that is the Timothy Chipley case.

"It's an extremely unusual situation," he said. "Probably, just a random act of violence."

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Just five months after Timothy's death, Chipley lost her husband to Alzheimer's disease.

She got through both deaths, she says, with "faith and family."

Both men's ashes were placed in the dirt in a rose garden on her property.

"I am not bitter," she said. "I am not angry. But, I know I'll see my guys again."

If you have information on the Timothy Chipley case, call 813-247-8200.