Wife Kills Husband's Great-Grandpa to Fund Trip with Boyfriend, Florida Police Say

A Calculated Crime and Its Consequences

A shocking case of premeditated violence has come to light in Florida, where a woman orchestrated the murder of her husband’s 88-year-old great-grandfather with the help of her boyfriend. The motive? To fund a trip to Michigan. Authorities revealed that 29-year-old Britney Andrus was recently convicted of second-degree murder, burglary with assault or battery, grand theft of a motor vehicle, and burglary of a conveyance in connection with the 2020 death of James Little.

The Highlands County Sheriff’s Office announced the conviction on July 29, highlighting the severity of the crimes committed. McClatchy News attempted to reach out to Andrus’ attorney for comment but did not receive an immediate response. Meanwhile, her boyfriend at the time, Tyler Best, 25, pleaded guilty to similar charges, including second-degree murder, burglary with battery, grand theft of a motor vehicle, and possessing a firearm as a felon. His attorney declined to comment, citing the ongoing nature of the case.

Andrus’ husband was in jail when she moved into his great-grandfather’s mother-in-law suite in Sebring, about a week before the murder. According to the arrest affidavit, the couple had plans to visit Michigan, where Andrus’ grandmother lived. They devised a scheme to steal and sell items from the main house where Little resided to finance their trip.

On October 22, 2020, Andrus called 911, claiming she found Little brutally beaten in his home. However, investigators later determined that she was the one who killed him. It appears that Little was asleep when an intruder woke him up and hit him 12 times with a blunt object before fleeing with his valuables. Although Little was still alive when first responders arrived, he died five days later at a hospital.

Little’s sons, accompanied by investigators, discovered items in the mother-in-law suite that belonged to the main house, including a safe that had been hidden in the air conditioning vent. One son noted that only family members would have known where the safe was hidden, and Andrus would have been aware of this, according to the affidavit.

Best’s fingerprints were found on the vent, and Andrus’ prints were discovered on a clock in the mother-in-law suite that had originally belonged to Little. Both individuals had discussed stealing Little’s car, although neither admitted to killing him. Surveillance footage showed Andrus driving to meet Best in the victim’s car the morning of the crime. Best told investigators that Andrus gave him Little’s wallet, and he was supposed to burn the house down, but he didn’t follow through.

When Best failed to act, Andrus went to a neighbor's house and claimed she found Little badly injured after a break-in, prompting the neighbor to call 911. Other witnesses reported hearing Best talk about hitting someone, but he changed his story multiple times, eventually recanting and blaming Andrus.

Best was arrested at a family member’s home and found with a backpack containing the victim’s belongings, including jewelry and a wallet with cards belonging to Little and his late wife. It wasn’t until a year after Little’s death that Andrus and Best were charged with murder. According to the sheriff’s office, both were suspects from the beginning of the investigation, which involved numerous interviews and the collection and analysis of biological evidence. The process of analyzing such evidence can take several months, and once detectives had all the information, arrest warrants were issued.

Court records show that Andrus and her husband, who was the victim’s great-grandson, finalized their divorce in 2024. Sebring, where the events took place, is approximately a 100-mile drive southeast from Tampa. This case highlights the devastating consequences of betrayal and greed, as well as the importance of thorough investigative work in bringing justice to victims and their families.