Investigators say William Broyles admitted to killing his family, but was found incompetent to stand trial in 2022. He pleaded guilty Tuesday.
NASSAU COUNTY, FLORIDA, Fla. — A Nassau County man who was charged with the murder of his three family members in 2021 has pled guilty on Tuesday, and will face life imprisonment, as revealed by court documents accessed by First Coast News.
William Broyles, aged 60, confessed to three first-degree murder counts on Tuesday, coinciding with a Nassau County judge’s decision declaring him fit for trial, overturning a prior 2022 ruling that found him incompetent.
Broyles’ wife, son, and daughter were fatally shot in their Callahan residence on Dec. 1, 2021. Although he confessed to the crimes, he was initially judged mentally unfit for trial in October 2022, leading to a delay in the legal process.
His ruling is based on the evaluation of two psychologists and their testimony in court.
Tuesday, a judge reversed the decision based on a psychiatrist’s May 5, 2025, report.
Broyles was adjudicated guilty Tuesday following his plea. He was sentenced to three terms of life in prison, to run concurrently with each other.
The case against Broyles
Though deputies say Broyles admitted to killing his family, he was the one who called 911 when they were shot on Dec. 1, 2021.
Police say they found Broyles’ wife, Candice Lynn Broyles, his daughter, Cara Lynn Broyles, and his son, Aaron Christopher Broyles, when they arrived at the family’s home in the 55000 block of Deer Run Road.
When police arrived at the home, Broyles was lying down in the driveway, Nassau County sheriff’s deputies said. When he was arrested, deputies said that Broyles confessed to murdering all three of his family members, saying he shot them multiple times to “make sure they did not suffer.”
Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said Broyles shot his wife, Candice Lynn Broyles, 57, in the living room area. According to Leeper, he then moved to his daughter’s room, Cara Lynn Broyles, 27, where he shot her as she was first waking up.
Leeper described Cara Lynn Broyles as possibly having high-functioning autism.
William Broyles then proceeded to bust through the bedroom door of his son’s room and shoot him, Leeper said. William Broyles then left the room to get another gun and came back and shot his son again, Leeper said.
Broyles was known by neighbors as a man who “kept to himself.” Those closed to him called him Bill, and he was a prominent member of the Hodges Boulevard Presbyterian Church community, serving as Director of Music Ministries for 23 years. Even Leeper said that this was an unexpected crime.
When Broyles was arrested, Hodges Boulevard Presbyterian Church posted:
“It is with tremendous sadness that I report to you that this Wednesday morning Bill Broyles, our Director of Music, confessed to shooting his wife and two of his children. Bill has been part of our church staff for 23 years, and this was completely out of character. We mourn this devastating loss to the church, Bill’s remaining family, and the larger community. We ask that you would hold the members of the Broyles family, our church family, and Bill himself in your prayers regarding this tragedy.”
