Nearly eight months later: Authorities still investigating death of Spring Hill woman
SPRING HILL – To this day the family of Robin Tucker doesn’t know why she died Jan. 3 in the Spring Hill home she shared with her husband.
Tucker, 51, the corporate owner of the Southern Elegance assisted living facility in Pasco County, was found face down on the floor of her home with her hands at her sides, according to her mother, Linda Tucker.
Tucker was married to David R. Toney, division chief of EMS for East Lake Fire Rescue in Pinellas County. Hernando County Court records show Toney and Tucker married May 2011.
In addition to being the owner and administrator of Southern Elegance, Linda Tucker said, her daughter was a member of the American Quarter Horse Association, American Paint Horse Association and a former member of the Hernando Democratic Executive Committee.
Hernando County Sheriff’s Office records show a death investigation was filed for the couple’s residence on Jan. 3.
The case remains active today.
“At this time the detectives are exploring all avenues with this investigation,” said sheriff’s office Public Information Officer Denise Moloney.
During death investigations, investigators seek to identify a cause of death as natural, a suicide or a homicide.
Requests by Hernando Today to obtain a copy of the 911 calls made the day prior and the day of her death or other records logged were denied.
“The 911 call will be available for review once the case is closed,” Moloney wrote.
“Once the investigation is complete, we can release the records.”
Linda Tucker said Robin’s husband, Toney, called her at 6:04 a.m. on Jan. 3 and said, “She’s gone. She’s gone.”
“I thought she took the car and left,” Linda Tucker said.
“I said, ‘She’s gone? What car? Where has she gone?’ And he said, ‘No. She’s dead.'”
“I just started screaming,” Tucker said. “I went to my closet and I couldn’t even figure out what to wear.”
When she finally made it to Robin’s house a deputy stopped her when she attempted to go inside, she said.
“‘That’s not a good thing for a mother to see,'” Tucker said the deputy told her. “So my other daughter went in.”
According to Robin’s son, Matthew Suters, it took about 12 weeks for the toxicology report to be completed, and the sheriff’s office told him it showed a few different substances in his mother’s system. Among them was a lethal dose of morphine, he said.
Detectives working the case declined to provide any information about the case, noting the death investigation remains active.
“My mother wasn’t prescribed morphine,” Suters added.
Suters said his mother was prescribed a different medication, an opioid, for her migraines, and that she was also being treated for lupus.
Florida Department of State records show that Robin Tucker, as of last July, had filed under a former maiden name as the incorporated director of her assisted living company, Southern Elegance ALF Inc.
The annual corporation report filed this year for the company now lists Toney as the corporation’s director.
Repeated attempts to contact Toney were unsuccessful.
As the days continue to pass since Robin Tucker’s death the family wants closure.
“I’m 73 years old and my health is not the greatest,” Linda Tucker said. “I want to know something before I die.”
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