CITRUS COUNTY, Fla. – A Citrus County judge has handed down a four-decade prison sentence to a 63-year-old woman for the violent bludgeoning death of her elderly roommate.
On Friday, Jan. 9, Judge Joel D. Fritton sentenced Tracey Lee Stanley to 40 years in the Florida Department of Corrections. The sentencing concludes a case that began in the summer of 2024, following Stanley’s decision last October to enter an open plea of no contest to Second-Degree Murder, bypassing a jury trial.
The investigation began on July 20, 2024, when Citrus County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) deputies were called to a residence on East Rector Street in Inverness. Inside, they discovered the body of 72-year-old Andrea Kathleen Day.
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Investigators described a gruesome scene. Day’s body was found wrapped in a tarp and had clearly been deceased for some time. Authorities determined Day had been bludgeoned to death, suffering more than 20 blows to the head.
Evidence collected at the scene identified the murder weapon as the claw end of a hammer. Subsequent forensic testing revealed DNA from both Stanley and the victim on the tool.
Stanley, who lived with Day at the residence, was questioned by Major Crimes Detectives shortly after the discovery and arrested. Assistant State Attorney Blake Shore prosecuted the case, securing the conviction and subsequent 40-year term.
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