Statement From 10th Judicial Circuit Court
“On June 19, 2024, Taiwan Blandin was convicted of First Degree Murder, Attempted Sexual Battery, Robbery, Arson, Animal Cruelty and other charges for his October 1, 2019 crime rampage that left an 80 year old Frostproof woman dead in her home.
Following the crime spree, a nationwide man hunt ensued, with Blandin finally being apprehended two weeks later in Atlanta.
Taiwan Blandin will be sentenced on Friday, June 28, 2024 at 8:30a.m. by Senior Circuit Judge Dennis Maloney.
State Attorney Brian Haas thanks the Polk County Sheriff’s Office and Assistant State Attorney Ralph Guerra for their hard work and dedication in bringing Taiwan Blandin to justice.”
Previous News
The man who detectives said went on a crime spree in October – murdering a woman and raping another woman – was extradited to Polk County after he was arrested in Atlanta nearly three months ago.
Polk County detectives said 30-year-old Taiwan Blandin of Frostproof was booked into the county jail Saturday.
Sheriff Grady Judd said his crime spree began on the morning of October 1 when he broke into the first victim’s home in Fort Meade. The victim said she woke up to find Blandin standing naked. He allegedly said he was going to rape her, but she resisted, detective said at the time.
That’s when Blandin allegedly pulled a knife, held it to her throat, and raped her. The victim said Blandin grabbed two handguns and two shotguns from her home, bound her wrists and ankles, wrapped her in a blanket, put her in the backseat of her own car.
Detectives said she told them they drove toward Frostproof, turning down dirt roads. They finally stopped at a dirt path where she said Blandin got out of the vehicle and opened a gate. They drove through to a mobile home. She said Blandin got out, knocked on the door, and spoke an elderly woman, and went inside the mobile home with her.
The victim said she had been trying to remove the bindings from her arms and legs and, when Blandin went inside the mobile home, she broke free, got in the front seat, and took off, detectives said. The victim told deputies Blandin had taken her cell phone, so she drove back to her home and asked a neighbor to use the phone to call for help.
Soon after, the victim said Blandin sped up driving a red Chevy Cruze and opened fire. An 81-year-old neighbor of the first victim was shot in the foot.
When detectives spoke to the two victims, the first victim realized she knew Blandin. She told them Blandin and her ex-boyfriend once attended school together.
Once investigators figured out where Blandin had taken the victim and whose car he was driving, they rushed to the mobile home where the first victim escaped. When they arrived, there was smoke coming from the home.
Inside, they found the body of Clara ‘Peggy’ Margaret Schiering, 80.
Neighbors and family say Schiering was active and was still working as a substitute teacher for the Polk County School Board.
