True Crime Story: The Seminole Heights Serial Murders episode artwork

EPISODE · May 1, 2026 · 1H 1M

True Crime Story: The Seminole Heights Serial Murders

from Matter of Fact: A play on "matter" (physics) and "facts" (news). · host Larry White

Between October and November 2017, Howell Emanuel Donaldson III carried out four random, fatal shootings in the Seminole Heights neighborhood of Tampa using a .40 caliber Glock handgun. The investigation reached a breakthrough when Donaldson’s McDonald's manager contacted a police officer after the suspect handed her a bag containing the murder weapon and requested money to flee the city. After being linked to the crimes through ballistics, bloody clothing, and cell phone GPS data, Donaldson eventually pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Between October and November 2017, Howell Emanuel Donaldson III carried out four random, fatal shootings in the Seminole Heights neighborhood of Tampa using a .40 caliber Glock handgun. The investigation reached a breakthrough when Donaldson’s McDonald's manager contacted a police officer after the suspect handed her a bag containing the murder weapon and requested money to flee the city. After being linked to the crimes through ballistics, bloody clothing, and cell phone GPS data, Donaldson eventually pleaded guilty to four counts of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

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True Crime Story: The Seminole Heights Serial Murders

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This episode was published on May 1, 2026.

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Between October and November 2017, Howell Emanuel Donaldson III carried out four random, fatal shootings in the Seminole Heights neighborhood of Tampa using a .40 caliber Glock handgun. The investigation reached a breakthrough when Donaldson’s...

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