Tracey Stanley (in orange) during a court appearance (Office of the State Attorney, Fifth Judicial District).
A Florida resident has been sentenced to a lengthy prison term after fatally attacking her roommate with a hammer.
Tracey Stanley, aged 63, entered a no-contest plea to the murder of her 72-year-old roommate, Andrea Kathleen Day. The Fifth Judicial District’s State Attorney’s Office confirmed that on January 9, Stanley received a 40-year prison sentence, following her plea from three months prior. More details can be found here.
As outlined in court records obtained by Law&Crime, Stanley herself dialed 911 on July 20, 2024, to announce Day’s death. Responding emergency personnel discovered Day’s body in the kitchen, shrouded by a blue tarp. The scene was grim, with blood splattered across the floor, ceiling, and hallway walls, along with evident drag marks where the body had been moved.
During an interview with Citrus County Sheriff’s Office detectives, Stanley appeared evasive, avoiding discussion of the deceased body in her residence, according to court documents. When pressed by investigators, she invoked her right to legal counsel.
Detectives noted that Stanley bore “small scratch marks” on her face, accompanied by “fresh blood.” The investigation uncovered a hammer bearing the DNA of both Day and Stanley, prosecutors revealed. It was determined that Day suffered approximately 20 blows to the head with the hammer’s claw end.
Officials reported that Day’s upper body, including her head, was encased in three garbage bags. Her face showed signs of decomposition, leading prosecutors to surmise that she had been deceased for some time before Stanley made the 911 call.
According to the arrest warrant, detectives were approached by a mail delivery worker who told them that Day had asked her for help evicting Stanley from the property. Stanley received that eviction notice on June 24, 2024, a few weeks before she murdered Day.
Stanley pleaded no contest to second-degree murder. She will spend the next 40 years incarcerated by the Florida Department of Corrections.
