On the morning of October 6th, 2013, emergency responders were called to a mobile home fire in Zephyrhills, Florida. What initially appeared to be a tragic residential fire soon became something far more sinister. Outside the burning residence, authorities discovered the body of fifty-eight-year-old Richard Steven Massey, known to friends and acquaintances as “Stevie.” He had been shot multiple times, and investigators believed that the fire consuming his home had been deliberately set to conceal evidence of his murder.
The events unfolded in the predawn darkness of Sunday, October 6th, at 4636 Lane Road in Zephyrhills, a community in eastern Pasco County, approximately thirty miles northeast of Tampa.
Sometime between three thirty and four a.m., the Pasco County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of a fire at Stevie’s mobile home. By the time emergency personnel arrived, the residence was engulfed in flames. The fire ultimately destroyed the mobile home, potentially eliminating physical evidence that might have helped investigators reconstruct the events leading to Stevie Massey’s death.
As investigators began examining the scene, accounts from nearby residents suggested that the violence had preceded the fire. According to an October 7th, 2013, report by Bay News 9, neighbors recalled hearing gunfire shortly before noticing the flames. One resident, Dawn Gourlay, described hearing a rapid series of shots during the early morning hours. “I heard 10 gunshots in succession,” she told the television station.
Exactly how the confrontation began, whether Stevie knew his attacker, and why the violence occurred have not been established. Investigators have not publicly explained what evidence led them to conclude that the fire was intentionally set, whether an accelerant was found, or where inside the mobile home the blaze originated. It also remains unclear whether the victim was shot inside the residence and managed to make his way outside, or whether the shooting occurred outdoors.
Although the apparent effort to destroy evidence suggests purposeful conduct, it does not establish whether the killing was premeditated, whether the fire was planned in advance, or whether more than one person was involved. There were no verified public details indicating that the homicide arose from a robbery, a personal dispute, a financial disagreement, or any other specific circumstances.
As of this writing in October 2026, the slaying of Stevie Massey is still unsolved.
