Detectives have arrested a man on a murder charge in connection with the killing of a 76-year-old woman who was found dead in a Pinellas County hotel.
Paul Stottler, 38, is facing a second-degree murder charge in connection with the death of Emma Mullins, the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office reported in a news release.
Mullins was found dead Thursday morning at the Holiday Inn Express, 4816 100th Way N. in Seminole, deputies said.
A hotel employee found Mullins’ body on the floor of a room. The body was wrapped in a blanket with sheets, towels and clothing on top “in an attempt to conceal her location,” the news release states.
“Throughout the course of the investigation, detectives learned that an altercation took place between Mullins and the suspect,” the news release states. “There were blood stains, overturned furniture, and broken glass throughout the room with obvious signs of trauma to Mullins.
“Video surveillance showed Mullins and Stottler entering the room but only Stottler exiting the room hours later while carrying several bags that he then disposes of in the dumpster located in the hotel parking lot,” the release states. “While searching the dumpster, detectives found three documents with Mullins’s name concealed in an ice bucket as well as bedding and a pair of men’s pants that were stained with blood.”
Records show Stottler was booked at the Pinellas County Jail early Friday morning.
He was sentenced to two years in prison in 2022 on charges of burglary and battery, records show. He was released in 2024. He has a lengthy criminal record in Pinellas County that includes charges of burglary, grand theft, criminal mischief, disorderly conduct and drug possession.
Bail information was not yet available Friday, and a lawyer for Stottler was not yet listed for him in court records.
