Convicted killer identified as Holiday homicide suspect

HOLIDAY (FOX 13) - Neighbors in a Holiday community are asking how a man convicted of killing two people was allowed back on the street.

He's now back behind bars for stabbing one of his roommates.

"We had no knowledge of it whatsoever," said Melissa Sullivan, who lives next door to where the incident happened. "I mean, we had never seen a police officer come check up on him. Nothing."

"Do the math. Something went wrong, somewhere along the line," said another neighbor, Mike Scannell. "Somebody dropped the ball, I can't say who or why."

The Pasco County Sheriff says 71-year-old Warren Joseph Birkbeck stabbed his 42-year-old roommate, Denise Cook, to death. According to deputies, just after 3:00 Wednesday morning, Birkbeck woke up his other roommate, 85-year-old Lillian Meyer to tell her he stabbed Cook. Deputies say he confessed in a 911 call and explained he was in love with Cook, but the feelings were not mutual.

In the 911 call, Birkbeck said Cook was "...nothing but a cheating b**** (expletive). I've just had it”, he continued. “I just flipped out tonight and I ended up killing her."

Prior to his latest arrest, Birkbeck had been convicted of manslaughter In 1963 and 2nd-degree murder for killing his estranged wife in New Hampshire in 1999. He was released from prison two years ago and moved to Florida.

"There's no other way to say this: he's a killer," said Sheriff Chris Nocco of Pasco County. "He has a history of killing people."

Pasco deputies say they are talking with the Department of Corrections probation office to gain insight on Birkbeck's past.

Records show he is on probation until 2029.

"It's devastating, I think that's something that caused us a little pause of concern of why he's down here," said Sheriff Nocco.

"It's shocking because you never know who's living right next door to you," said Sullivan. "It could have been anybody. He could have gotten into an argument with me, and he could have killed me, could have killed my mom, could have killed the older lady. You never know. It's scary, it's very scary."