By Jill Jorden Spitz - Orlando Sentinel

November 23, 1993

SPRING HILL — An elderly woman was dead, and deputy sheriffs canvassed her neighborhood for information on the mysterious house fire that apparently had killed her.

A few houses down, they interviewed Edwin ''Michael'' Kaprat III, a 29-year-old machinist who said he had just moved in with his sister.

At the time, authorities had no way of knowing the victim, 80-year-old Sophia Garrity, would be the first of four elderly widows to be killed and burned in this sprawling suburb about 50 miles north of Tampa.

They also had no idea the concerned neighbor - the man they first spoke with Aug. 7 - would become their primary suspect in a case that left the normally quiet community so gripped with fear that elderly residents locked themselves in their homes, moved in with friends or left town.

Kaprat was arrested Oct. 8 after an extensive high-tech surveillance that included the installation of electronic tracking devices on his and his father's cars.

Although he initially confessed to killing the four women and severely beating an elderly couple, Kaprat has since pleaded not guilty to the 18 felony charges he faces.

Stacks of documents in the case were released to the news media on Monday, revealing a case so thorough and exhaustive that it seems nearly every man in Spring Hill was at some point considered a suspect.

Residents called the Hernando County Sheriff's Office by the thousands to report ''suspicious'' events, ''strange'' people and wild hunches.

One man was investigated after he told a stranger that if he were the killer, he would dump the bodies in a swamp rather than try to burn them. A kitchen worker found himself facing a pair of stern-faced deputies after he stabbed a soup bag and joked to a co-worker that he was the Spring Hill killer.

As some deputies worked furiously to find the serial killer, others sat patiently at crime scenes, jotting down license numbers of everyone who drove past. They videotaped mourners at the victims' funerals and checked out everyone who signed a register at one memorial service.

Despite all the leads, however, one name kept coming up: Edwin Kaprat III, whose record includes a 1991 Hillsborough County arrest on a murder charge that was dropped for lack of evidence.

Detectives' notes, statements of officers from various law enforcement agencies and formal case reports paint the following picture of the investigation.

Sept. 29

The day after the fourth killing takes the life of 87-year-old Lorraine Dawe, an anonymous caller later identified as Janice Daniels calls the Hernando County Sheriff's Office and whispers that the person committing the Spring Hill homicides is Edwin Kaprat. Daniels, a friend of Kaprat's parents, said she knew Kaprat did work for the victims.

Sept. 30

Forensic experts identify fingerprints found on Dawe's garage as Kaprat's. The same day, a surveillance team of at least nine officers starts tracking Kaprat's every move.

Oct. 3

Authorities record a conversation between Dawe's neighbor, Marie Van Nieuwenhuize and Kaprat's father. Edwin Kaprat II mentions that he has done work for all the victims and that his son often helps him on jobs.

Oct. 4

Dawe's banker tells authorities her client was concerned that Kaprat sometimes came to her house and asked to use the telephone.

Oct. 5

Investigator Scott Beirweiler asks Garrity's daughter about Kaprat. She knew him, she said. He dated the victim's granddaughter in late 1992 until the young woman died of cancer.

Checking further into the victims' pasts, investigators find more links to Kaprat.

His father erected a ''for sale'' sign outside the home of William and Alice Whitney, who were severely beaten inside their home Aug. 17. The father also remodeled the kitchen of 70-year-old Lydia Riddell, who was found dead in her mobile home Sept. 2.

Kaprat's mother, Ruth, sold a mobile home to 70-year-old Ruth Goldsmith, who died in a fire in the home Aug. 18.

Kaprat is in the Hernando County jail without bail. A trial date has not been set.

Handyman Charged With Killing and Burning 4 Elderly Widows