Friend of Tampa murder victim wants answers

Murdered and dumped in a canal friends of 76-year-old William Hollis Norman of Tampa are having a hard time understanding how something so awful could've happened to him.

His remains were pulled from the water by officers with the Davie, Florida Police Department Thursday afternoon.

"You see it on the news and papers all the time," said Guyton Thompson, a longtime friend of Norman. "But you don't think it's going to happen to someone you know."

Thompson described the former high school principal as friendly and out-going. He's having a difficult time comprehending how and why someone would kill him.

"He was an educator and was very concerned about other's welfare," he said.

Investigators say Norman's body was discovered by a maintenance worker. His head was covered with a plastic bag that was secured with tape.

On Friday two 19-year-old South Florida men were charged in Norman's violent death.

David Corey Weintraub and Andarly Desir are currently being held without bond at the Broward County Jail. They are each facing one count of premeditated, first-degree murder.

A background check on Weintraub indicated he lived in a home owned by Norman in Tamarac, approximately 10 miles from where the body was found.

A report in the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel states that on at least one occasion Norman and his tenants got into a heated argument. 

The deceased allegedly told neighbors he was threatened and was afraid of them.

Thompson, who spent time with Norman last weekend, is shaken up by what happened to the man he knew for more than a decade.

"It bothers me a lot; two little punks taking on a 76-year-old man," he said.

Davie Police have not yet released a motive or cause of death in the case.

The investigation continues.