JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The man responsible for murdering two women stopped by a train in San Marco last month had ties to Nashville, Tennessee, according to a friend. First Coast News learned Thursday Head lived in Nashville before moving back to Florida to be closer to family.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office says 22-year-old Ty Christopher Head took his own life outside of Nashville on August 10, just one day after shooting and killing Paige Pringle and Tara Baker in San Marco.
Here in Florida, in November 2022, Head moved into a Jax Sober Living Recovery Residence on Jacksonville Beach, according to former housemate, Michael Keicher. He says Head admitted to having mental health and substance abuse issues.
JSO says Head had no criminal record but did have a history of substance abuse. Keicher says he never thought Head would commit a crime like this.
"He was standoffish and kind of quiet type," Head's former housemate Michael Keicher said. "He grew up in North Florida and he was he had a lot of mental health issues. His parents wanted him to go to a sober living house for extended period of time."
Around 1:30 a.m. on August 9, JSO says Paige Pringle was presumably driving home on Hendricks Avenue in San Marco when she got stopped by a passing train. Tara Baker was next to her bike near the train tracks. JSO says Head was driving behind Pringle. He parked, got out of his car, shot Baker and Pringle and fled.
Detectives only had the color, make and model of the car, which was a grey Volkswagen Passat to go off of and 9mm gun casings at the scene. JSO says using technology, they were able to identify Head and confirm his car. JSO says a day after the murders, Head killed himself outside of Nashville, TN near his car using the same gun. Head was living out of his car at the time of the murders.
"When Head took his own life, he blocked the only avenue for investigators to conclusively answer this question," Chief Alan Parker said Wednesday.
Keicher says he was shocked to hear Head was named responsible for the murders of Paige Pringle and Tara Baker.
"There's so many unanswered questions. In this case, if only we knew half of what was on his mind. He was just a kindhearted soul. When I first met him, he didn't seem like a cold-blooded killer. The fact that he did these horrific murders, it's just unspeakable," Keicher said.
The motive for the murders of Paige Pringle and Tara Baker are still not known. The fiancé of Tara Baker told First Coast News Thursday law enforcement told him Head did not know the victims.
JSO says the investigation is ongoing.