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News and Investigations

News & Investigations

News Releases and Public Information

Welcome to the Polk County Sheriff's Office News Room, where the Public Information Officers (PIO's) post all of the information that they release to the news media. PIO's act as liaisons between news media organizations and the Sheriff's Office. The PIO's routinely release timely and accurate information and Crime Stoppers bulletins, and respond to routine and "breaking news" media inquiries. News releases and Crime Stoppers information can be found on this page.

PCSO's full-time Public Information Officers are Brian Bruchey, Carrie Horstman, and Alicia Manautou. The Public Information Officers can be reached by sending an e-mail collectively at PIOs@polksheriff.org

The recent news releases sent out by the PIOs can be found here, and archived releases (older than 2017) can be found here.

Aug 1, 2022

Winter Haven man arrested for first degree murder after fatally shooting a family member

Media Contact: Carrie Horstman, Administrator

On Sunday, July 31, 2022, PCSO deputies arrested 21-year-old Kyle Raemisch of Winter Haven after he fatally shot his 52-year-old father in their shared home and then called 911 to report it. He has been booked into the Polk County Jail and charged with first degree murder, a capital felony.

Just after 10:00 a.m. that morning, PCSO received two 911 calls about the incident: one call from a neighbor who called to report that the suspect was shooting a gun in the garage -- while that caller was on the line with the dispatcher he reported seeing the victim deceased in the garage; and one call from the suspect stating he had shot the victim and that the victim was dead.

The following are excerpts from Raemisch's affidavit, and they are self-explanatory:

Upon arriving on scene, Deputies located the suspect, Kyle Raemisch, and detained him. Multiple Deputies entered the residence through the open garage door and observed the victim lying on the garage floor, obviously deceased. Law enforcement conducted a safety sweep of the residence to ensure no other victims were present. Located on a shelf directly across from the inside garage door was a black, Sig Sauer a (9MM) semi-automatic handgun.

Located on the floor of the garage were 14 spent shell casings. Located in the foyer directly in front of the garage door was 1 spent shell casing. In total, fifteen (15) spent shell casings were located at the scene. Located on the garage floor, the decedent was lying on his side with apparent gunshot wounds throughout his body. On the south end of the garage were two (2) apparent bullet holes to a garage door. Next to the door was a surfboard with apparent entry bullet holes. Both the door and the surfboard were directly behind the decedent's body. 

Prior to Law Enforcement arriving, suspect Kyle Raemisch contacted 911. The suspect stated to the 911 dispatcher he had shot the victim and was following instructions from the 911 dispatcher. When asked where the suspect shot the victim he stated "The head." When asked why he shot the victim, the suspect stated "Because of the money." The suspect stated he has been held hostage for far too long. When asked how many time he shot the victim the suspect stated "Too many times."

While on scene, I made contact with suspect Kyle Raemisch and read him his Miranda Rights from an agency issued Miranda card. While reading the suspect his rights, he quickly stated he wanted a lawyer.