With Walls’ Execution, Northwest Florida Confronts Its Serial Killer Past Tricia Elliott December 18, 2025 3:14 pm Crime, Emerald Coast, Okaloosa County In Brief: Frank Walls, Okaloosa County’s most notorious serial killer, is scheduled for execution today. Mark Riebe operated in Northwest Florida from the late 1970s through the early 1990s, suspected of over a dozen murders. Other notable violent crime cases in the region include Edward Zakrzewski II, Aileen Wuornos, and Danny Rolling. Okaloosa & Walton Counties, FL – As Florida prepares to execute Frank Athen Walls on December 18, 2025, the region reflects on the history of serial killers in Northwest Florida. Since 1980, law enforcement and historical records have identified two serial killers as the most prominent in Okaloosa and Walton counties. Frank Athen Walls is widely recognized as Okaloosa County’s most notorious serial killer. Active between 1985 and 1987, Walls was convicted and admitted to five murders, including the 1987 slayings of Ann Peterson and Edward Alger in their Ocean City mobile home. After decades on death row, his execution is set for today. Mark Riebe is often mentioned alongside Walls. Operating in the Northwest Florida Panhandle from the late 1970s through the early 1990s, Riebe was formally convicted for the 1989 murder of Donna Callahan in Gulf Breeze. He has confessed to, and is suspected of, over a dozen additional murders across the region, including cases in Okaloosa County. Many of these confessions remain unverified, but his activity has left a lasting mark on the... Read More

Congress OKs More Than $590M for Panhandle Military Construction Projects Congress OKs More Than $590M for Panhandle Military Construction Projects Staff Reports December 18, 2025 2:51 pm Military In Brief: Congress authorized more than $590 million in military construction projects across five Panhandle installations Eglin Air Force Base would receive the largest share, with funding tied to the F-35A program and new facilities Tyndall Air Force Base continues its post–Hurricane Michael rebuilding with a new fire and crash rescue station NICEVILLE — Congress has approved its annual defense policy bill, authorizing hundreds of millions of dollars for military construction projects at several major installations in Florida’s Panhandle, including Eglin Air Force Base, Hurlburt Field, Naval Air Station Pensacola, Naval Air Station Whiting Field and Tyndall Air Force Base. The National Defense Authorization Act authorizes more than $590 million for projects at the five installations, according to figures released by Sen. Ashley Moody’s office. The bill outlines defense policy priorities for the coming fiscal year and authorizes funding levels for military construction and other Pentagon programs. Eglin Air Force Base would receive the largest share among the installations, with more than $219 million authorized for a range of projects. Those include funding for new and upgraded facilities supporting the F-35A program, a child development center, a spectrum warfare wing facility and barracks construction. Hurlburt Field is authorized to receive $66 million for a new intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission operations facility. At Naval Air Station Pensacola, the bill authorizes $164 million... Read More

NASCAR Driver Greg Biffle & His Family Are Feared Dead After A Plane Crash On Thursday (December 18) around 10:20am local time, a private plane owned by NASCAR driver Greg Biffle crashed at the Statesville Regional Airport, which is just north of Charlotte, North Carolina. The plane’s owner is GB Aviation Leasing, LLC., which is […] More Country Music Nation  Read More

Charges Against Former AFSOC Chief Anthony Green Revealed Christopher Saul December 18, 2025 1:58 pm Hurlburt Field, Military In Brief:  Former AFSOC Enlisted Leader Faces Trial: Anthony Green, the command’s former top enlisted member, is scheduled for a General Court-Martial on February 10, 2026.  Serious Charges Filed: He has been charged with four counts, including indecent recording, obstructing justice, and two counts related to child pornography.  Court-Martial Process Explained: The article outlines the three types of courts-martial and details the step-by-step process of a General Court-Martial under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ). Anthony Green, the former highest enlisted member of the Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), will have a court-martial scheduled on February 10, 2026. Green was relieved of his post by Lt. General Michael Conley in May of 2025. General Conley cited a loss of confidence when he made his decision.  The Air Force’s Judge Advocate General’s docket website had the information available as of 0900 on December 18.  The Judge Advocate General has charged Green with four counts, including: Indecent recording Obstructing justice Child pornography; posses, recieve, view Child pornography; production “Green is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at trial by courts-martial, “ said a news release by Air Force Special Operations Command on Wednesday. “AFSOC is committed to the welfare of our Airmen and maintaining good order and discipline to preserve the trust placed in us to execute our critical global missions.” How Courts Martial Work The Air Force court-martial operates under the Uniform... Read More

PANAMA CITY, Fla. (WMBB) – A Panama City man was sentenced to five years in federal prison for receipt of child pornography to be followed by five years of supervised release. According to the Northern District of Florida U.S. Attorney’s Office, Chad Ryan Puffinbarger, 39, came under investigation in 2021 when he was believed to […] Read More

FLORIDA (WMBB) – Several of the Panhandle’s local law enforcement agencies helped with the recovery and location of 43 critically missing children in Operation Northern Lights. According to the U.S. Marshals Service, Operation Northern Lights was a missing child operation that was executed in 14 counties across North Florida for two-weeks in December. The operation […] Read More

FLORIDA – Florida regulators this week approved proposals by six private insurers to take policies from Citizens Property Insurance Corp. as efforts continue to shrink the state’s insurer of last resort. The approvals, which came in a series of orders signed by Insurance Commissioner Michael Yaworsky, are part of what is known as a “depopulation” […] Read More

 [[{“value”:” Step into the kitchen with Chef Jim Shirley, founder of many South Walton favorites such as Great Southern Café, Farm & Fire, The Bay, North Beach Social and The Meltdown on 30A! Shirley’s unique take on modern Southern cuisine was inspired by learning international cooking from his two classic Southern grandmothers. Watch and learn more about how his vision for his restaurants is to create a shared experience that aligns with the overall sense of interconnectedness in these local beach neighborhoods.    “}]]  SoWal.com  Read More

Rob And Michele Reiner’s Manner Of Death Revealed As “Homicide,” Son Nick Reiner Charged With Murder Meg Ryan joins the many people paying tribute to Rob and Michele Reiner after their tragic deaths. Rob, an actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, and Michele, a photographer and producer, were found deceased in their home on December 14. […] More Country Music Nation  Read More

Florida Set to Execute Okaloosa County Serial Killer Staff Reports December 18, 2025 9:40 am Crime, Okaloosa County In Brief: Frank Walls is set to become the 19th person executed in Florida this year. State and federal courts rejected final appeals based on the argument of intellectual disability. Walls was convicted of five brutal murders that terrorized Okaloosa County in the 1980s. Frank Walls, a convicted serial killer responsible for five murders in Okaloosa County during the mid-1980s, is scheduled to be executed Thursday evening at Florida State Prison, following the denial of his final appeals. Walls, 66, is set to become the 19th inmate executed in Florida this year — a new state record. The execution is scheduled for a tentative time of 6 p.m. EST and will be carried out by lethal injection. In a last-minute effort to halt the execution, Walls’ attorneys petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court for a stay, arguing that Walls is intellectually disabled and that his execution would violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. His legal team cited IQ test scores of 72 and 74 as evidence of intellectual disability and claimed Florida courts failed to properly evaluate the issue. State attorneys strongly rejected those claims. In court filings, the Florida Attorney General’s Office stated, “Walls is not now intellectually disabled and never was.” Both the Florida Supreme Court and a federal appeals court previously denied requests to stop the execution. Walls’ crimes left a lasting scar on Northwest Florida,... Read More