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Roommate arrested in murder of sex offender found dead at Daytona Beach motel, deputies say

69-year-old Marc Pinder found dead February 2020

Wayne Hibbs. (Image: Volusia County Sheriff's Office) (Copyright 2021 by WKMG ClickOrlando - All rights reserved.)

VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – More than a year later, deputies have made an arrest in the murder of a sex offender who was found dead at a Daytona Beach motel, according to the Volusia County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies said 53-year-old Wayne B. Hibbs was arrested Wednesday following an investigation into the death of Marc Pinder, 69.

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Hibbs was previously in custody at the Gulf Correctional Institution facing charges shortly after the murder, the sheriff’s office said, but he was recently transferred to the Volusia County jail.

According to the sheriff’s office, Pinder was found dead on Feb. 28, 2020, at the Speedway Motel, previously known as the Bird’s Nest, along International Speedway Boulevard while probation and parole officers were conducting a probation check. The Bird’s Nest provided housing for registered sex offenders.

Deputies said Hibbs and Pinder shared a room at the motel. Records show Pinder was a registered sexual offender who was convicted of lewd and lascivious battery on a child between 12 and 15 years old in 2012, along with other charges.

The sheriff’s office said Hibbs cut off his GPS monitoring device and left after interviewing with detectives before he was found days later. He was taken into custody for violation of probation.

Deputies said GPS data from Hibbs and Pinder showed the two men were in the room together at the time the murder happened. Officials said Hibbs left early the morning of Pinder’s death from the motel, using Pinder’s car before his body was found.

The sheriff’s office said deputies discovered through their investigation that Hibbs believed Pinder would be receiving “a large financial settlement in the future” and that Hibbs would be the one to receive the money should anything happen to his roommate. Deputies also learned Hibbs believed Pinder was poisoning him, though they did not find evidence to support that.

Hibbs is now facing a second-degree murder charge.