HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — To honor the life and service of Deputy Abigail Bieber, on Wednesday, Feb. 2, the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office Motor Unit escorted her home to Clearwater.
The 30-year-old was found shot Saturday, Jan. 29, at a St. Augustine vacation rental home. Investigators say they believe a co-worker, Detective Daniel Leyden, shot her before killing himself after the two were heard arguing in a bedroom by fellow deputies on vacation with them.
They were said to be in a romantic relationship.
"Deputy Abigail Bieber was an outstanding law enforcement officer, and by all accounts, an even better person who left a positive impact on every member of her squad and the countless members of our community who she encountered while on patrol," Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a statement Tuesday afternoon.
"This tragedy has left our Sheriff's Office family grief-stricken. There is a void within our hearts that can never be filled, but I hope that Deputy Bieber's legacy will be the way she lived her life, as a selfless servant."
Bieber, who's been with the sheriff's office since February 2018, frequently was on calls for service related to sexual battery and child abuse, the agency said, adding that she one day wished to become a detective within the Criminal Investigations Division Special Victims Section.
The motorcade traveled from St. Johns County to Interstate 275 in Hillsborough County before exiting at Bearss Avenue. Those escorting Deputy Bieber then traveled from N. Dale Mabry Highway to Ehrlich Road before passing the HCSO District III Office where she was assigned.
Bieber's squadmates and members of the sheriff's office lined roadways to pay their respects. Several deputies were seen Wednesday morning lining the roadway in St. John's County to prepare for the procession.
"Deputy Bieber is more than deserving of this honor, and we hope that by allowing both our Sheriff's Office family and the community at large to pay their respects, it will provide some small sense of comfort in this tragedy," Chronister said. "She will forever be remembered as a dedicated public servant."
The National Domestic Violence Hotline can be reached 24/7 at 800-799-7233. Anyone experiencing a mental health crisis can contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or the Crisis Center of Tampa Bay at 211.