True Crime Friday: Leo Boatman, the Ocala National Forest serial killer
Leo Boatman was born July 20, 1986, in the State of Florida. He was convicted of four murders between the years 2006 and 2019. He became notorious for the murders of two college student who were camping at the Ocala National Forrest, hence the name the Ocala National Forrest Serial Killer moniker. Not only is the man a menace to society but his prison cellmates were not safe either. Boatman was sentenced to two consecutive life sentences after pleading guilty to the murders of Amber Peck and John Parker.
While in prison, Boatman murdered two prisoners. He murdered one in 2010 and the other one in 2019. He received an additional fifteen years in prison for the 2010 murder. He was sentenced to death for the 2019 killing in which he had an accomplice. Boatman is currently on death row in a Florida prison.
The Early Childhood of Leo Boatman
Boatman was born in a psychiatric hospital in the State of Florida. His mother was a patient at the facility. His father is unknown. His mother was diagnosed with schizophrenia.Her children were put up for adoption since she could not take care of them. The grandmother of the children took them in, but Boatman received mistreatment from her. Not much has been published regarding his sibling and whether she was abused by the grandmother or adopted by another family. Boatman went to live with an aunt and uncle. Boatman was sexually assaulted at six years old by an older cousin. His mother eventually was released from the hospital and she reunited with him. Her boyfriend began to sexually assault him as well. After his mother died from drowning during a boating accident in 1995, he was placed into foster care. The foster family also sexually abused him. The foster family had been reported by other victims in their care to no avail. He spent years in detention at the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice for charges related to escape, robbery, concealed weapons, battery and assault. Boatman was released from the high-security Omega Juvenile Prison in August 2005. Five months later he would murder Amber Peck and John Parker in Ocala National Forest.
The Victims of Leo Boatman
- Amber Peck
- John Parker.
- Ricky A. Morris
- William Chapman
The Survivors of Leo Boatman
- Juvenile Prison Guards
- Unknown Friend
The Accomplice of Leo Boatman
- William Edward Wells