Dismembered body found when deputies respond to double homicide, FL cops say

One of the victims in a Florida double homicide had been dismembered by the time deputies arrived, according to an affidavit.

The grisly discovery was made Saturday, April 12, after Kirk Hysell Jr. confessed to killing his girlfriend and her mother at the home they shared near St. Petersburg, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office reports.

Christina Donzero, 34, was found dead in a bedroom and her mother Betti “Suzanne” Thevenet Donzero, 75, was discovered found in the home’s garage, investigators say.

They had been repeatedly stabbed, but the affidavit says this may have happened after one or both women were suffocated.

It was Hysell’s daughter who called 911, after her father confessed to the killings, officials said.

“The defendant was located in the bathroom of his residence by other family members who reside at the location,” the affidavit reports.

“The defendant advised (he) had killed two other family members ... and verbally directed family members to their corpses. ... The defendant admitted to killing and dismembering (one) victim.”

That victim was identified as Christina Donzero by WTVT.

Deputies report 41-year-old Hysell had “several” self-inflicted injuries, which required hospitalization, officials said.

When questioned, Hysell “admitted to the murders and initially planned to kill the whole family,” the sheriff’s office said.

“He also stated ... if he got out, he would ‘do it again,’” officials said.

Hysell has been charged with “two counts of first-degree murder,” officials said.

A motive in the killings has not been revealed.

This story was originally published April 16, 2025 at 11:01 AM with the headline "Dismembered body found when deputies respond to double homicide, FL cops say."