BELL, Florida — **Warning: This story contains details that some may find disturbing.**
As the 10-year anniversary of the horrific Bell murder-suicide approaches, a viral TikTok posted on Saturday about it has some users questioning the circumstances around the incident; the post has garnered more millions of views than days it has been up, racking up nine million in just four days.
In the post, a 911 call is played of a man telling police he just shot his daughter and all his grandchildren, all while two pictures of two people appear - one of a man and the other of a boy frowning. Also in the 911 call, the man tells the dispatcher that he is going to shoot himself once officers arrive.
Some commenters on the post took notice of the man's picture on-screen, suggesting that it appears to be well-known film director James Cameron, while several others simply wonder: "Is this real?"
THE QUESTIONS
- Is the 911 call on TikTok real?
- Did the man in the 911 call on the TikTok shoot himself?
- When and where did the murder-suicide happen?
- Is James Cameron pictured on the TikTok?
- Did the man in the 911 call on the post "accidentally kill his 8-year-old son years prior?"
THE SOURCES
- Florida Department of Law Enforcement
- NBC News
- Associated Press
THE ANSWER
Yes, the man heard in a 911 call on TikTok shot himself after killing his daughter and 6 grandkids in Florida.
WHAT WE FOUND
The 911 call recording on TikTok is real, however, the post doesn't provide true context as to when and where the incident happened, as it hints at taking place in the United Kingdom with "#uk" and "#uknews."
The grisly murder-suicide made national headlines and in 2015, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement released its final investigative report on it.
On Sept. 18, 2014, in Bell, Fla., Donald Spirit, 51, murdered his daughter, Sarah Spirit, 28, and her six children before taking his own life, according to the report.
The man pictured on the TikTok is Canadian filmmaker James Cameron, taken by the Associated Press, not of Spirit who made the 911 call. The image of Cameron used in the post and Spirit's mugshot can be seen below.
The FDLE report offers an in-depth explanation of Spirit's motive for the gruesome crimes. It states that people who knew him believed he did not have the right state of mind.
The report also explains that some of Spirit's violent rage was directed toward a woman named Collene Stewart, who is the great-aunt to three of the six grandchildren he murdered.
Stewart was at Spirit's trailer the day before the slaughter and reportedly overheard him tell his daughter "her kids were not worth a s***, tell someone to come get them because I don't love them, I hate them."
The report says Spirit later apologized and said he was "stressed out" because Sarah was unemployed and taking money for sexual acts with a man named "Jose" from Trenton, Fla. Sarah only knew the man for two days and was provided $25 on Sept. 16, 2014, and $70 on Sept. 17, 2014, according to investigators; Spirit was reportedly supposed to receive some of the money.
The report further states Spirit believed Stewart turned his daughter into "a prostitute" and that the "kids were not going to live this kind of life."
On the day of the massacre, Spirit called 911 at 4 p.m. and told a dispatcher, "I just shot my daughter and shot all my grandkids. I'll be sitting on my steps. When you get here, I'm going to shoot myself."
Nine minutes later, the report says the first units from the Gilchrist County Sheriff's Office arrived at Spirit's family's home and found him pacing outside unarmed with what appeared to be a jug of water.
The report mentions multiple times that deputies were familiar with the residence and the Spirits from prior domestic violence issues and criminal history, including a time in which they were caught growing marijuana.
Deputies said that Spirit told them, "I'm not mad at you. I'm mad at the Stewarts. Collene Stewart has turned Sarah into a whore and drugs and I'm fed up with this whole family. The Stewart family. They've ruined my family. They've ruined my life and I'm just tired of 'em all, and I've taken care of it today!"
After making the statement, FDLE says Spirit grabbed a semi-automatic weapon which he used to end his own life by shooting himself in the head.
The report indicates that video and audio of the suicide were captured on police dashcam footage as additional law enforcement personnel began to arrive on scene.
Deputies discovered Sarah's body outside, partially underneath a tarp, the report states. The report also states that in addition to being shot in the head, she was stabbed six times and suffered blunt force trauma from being pistol-whipped.
The bodies of Spirit's grandchildren were found in different parts of the home. Autopsy results show the youngest child died from a gunshot wound to the torso, while the five older ones died from a gunshot wound to their heads.
The names and ages of Spirit's grandchildren are as follows: Kaleb Kuhlmann, 11, Kylie Kuhlmann, 9, Johnathan Kuhlmann, 8, Destiny Stewart, 5, Brandon Stewart, 4, and Alanna Stewart, 3 months.
Spirit's ex-wife told investigators she believed he was bipolar and possibly under the influence of illegal drugs, according to the report. The report mentions that Spirit had been smoking "spice" and had gone off his medication for a month or two.
Before the murder-suicide, Spirit pleaded guilty in 2003 to accidentally shooting and killing his 8-year-old son during a hunting trip, according to NBC News. He was sentenced to three years in prison on one charge of possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.
