Man Dies After Sword Attack

By NICOLA M. WHITE The Tampa Tribune

Published: May 14, 2007

BRANDON - Willie Tarpley Jr. knew this much about his ex-wife's new boyfriend: The man was a convicted sex offender and Tarpley didn't want his children anywhere near him.

So Saturday night at about 8, Tarpley, 46, drove to his old house, grabbed one of his samurai swords, a katana, out of the garage and threatened to use the 42-inch blade to cut off the boyfriend's head.

The boyfriend, Lee Alexander, 25, of Indian Lakes Estates near Lake Wales, tried to flee, but hit Tarpley's Corvette in the driveway. That's when Tarpley reached into the open car window and plunged his sword into Alexander's body, Hillsborough County sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said.

Alexander stumbled out of the car and collapsed, dying in the street outside Tarpley's house at 910 River Rapids Ave., a leafy street lined with large brick homes.

Stabbed In Armpit , Neighbor Says

Neighbor Lana Peterson, who is close friends with both Willie Tarpley and his ex-wife, Jacqueline, said Alexander was stabbed in the armpit. She couldn't believe what happened, and by the way Willie Tarpley talked on Saturday night, she said she didn't think he believed it, either, Peterson said.

"He was crying," she said. "He was very remorseful."

Tarpley was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and second-degree murder. He is being held in the Orient Road Jail without bail.

The Tarpleys, married at least 20 years, separated this year, Peterson said. Authorities said Willie Tarpley moved out of the 3,000-square-foot ranch house about five days ago.

Two months ago, Jacqueline Tarpley started dating Alexander, a cattle herder who lived about an hour away. He had a 10-month-old baby, Peterson said.

Records show that Alexander was convicted in Polk County in 2000 of lewd and lascivious battery on a person under 16. Alexander was 18 at the time. The circumstances surrounding Alexander's arrest and conviction were unclear Sunday.

To Tarpley, it didn't matter. When he read Alexander's name on the sex offender registry and saw that it had to do with someone under the age of 16, he became enraged. He thought of his daughters, ages 3 and 15 months, and wanted him as far away as possible, Peterson said.

Tarpleys Have Past Convictions

Tarpley himself is a registered sex offender, as is his wife.

In 1988, Tarpley and his wife were convicted in a high-profile case concerning a woman who once worked for Willie Tarpley as a nude dancer. The Tarpleys were accused of kidnapping the woman, beating her, gluing her eyelids and genitalia shut and tattooing a four-letter word on her forehead, according to Tampa Tribune archives.

The couple, along with two other people, pleaded guilty to false imprisonment, battery and sexual battery charges. Each was sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Peterson said she has known the Tarpleys 13 years, since when they were released from prison. She said they worked hard and stayed out of trouble.

"They were good people and they still are," she said.

Willie Tarpley was injured in a motorcycle accident in the early 1980s and lost his right leg. He wears a prosthetic limb and is skilled in martial arts.

Peterson's husband, Mike, said Willie Tarpley had at least 100 knives in the house. From that collection, he pulled out the katana blade Saturday night, he said.

Researcher Melanie Coon contributed to this report. Reporter Nicola M. White can be reached at nwhite1@tampatrib.com or (813) 779-4613.