Sixty-two-year-old Linda Helms and her sister, fifty-four-year-old Vickie Sterling, lived together at 808 East Lotus Avenue in North Tampa, Florida, not far from the Forest Hills area of the city. The sisters had occupied the home for approximately ten years before their deaths and were reportedly very close.
Sometime on Thursday, April 12th, 2012, a friend became worried about Linda and Vickie. The friend went to the sisters’ home to check on them and discovered a terrible scene. Contemporary reporting indicates that the womens’ bodies were found at approximately four-thirty that afternoon. Authorities were called, and Tampa police descended on the residence.
The initial situation was treated cautiously. Investigators obtained a search warrant and entered the residence to conduct a full examination of the scene. Police soon confirmed that both women had suffered fatal gunshot wounds. The sisters were reportedly found in separate rooms of the home.
There was no detailed public description of the positioning of the bodies. Authorities did not publicly disclose the number of shots fired, the caliber of the weapon, whether a firearm was recovered, the precise estimated time of death, or whether anything had been taken from the home.
One of the most significant facts Tampa police did make public concerned the apparent relationship between the victims and their killer: detectives came to believe that Linda and Vickie knew the person responsible for their deaths.
In many double homicides, a possible motive quickly becomes apparent. Investigators may find evidence of robbery, domestic conflict, financial disputes, drugs, an ongoing feud, or some other source of danger. Nothing comparable has been publicly established in the killings of Linda Helms and Vickie Sterling.
Early reports did not identify a suspect. Neighbors told reporters that they were unaware of problems between the sisters or disturbances at the house. No person of interest appears to have been publicly named in connection with the murders.
Police have also never publicly announced whether one sister was believed to have been the primary target or whether both women were intentionally targeted from the outset.
It is likewise not publicly known when Linda and Vickie were last seen alive or who last spoke with them. Authorities have not released a detailed timeline establishing whether the sisters were killed shortly before being discovered or significantly earlier.
By April 2013, the first anniversary of the murders had arrived without an arrest. Tampa police again appealed to the public for information about Linda and Vickie’s deaths. Archived references to the anniversary coverage show authorities were still attempting to generate information that could move the investigation forward.
As of September 2026, the City of Tampa continues to list the killings of Vickie Sterling and Linda Helms among its unsolved homicide cases.
