A man set for his murder charge to be decided by a jury instead entered a plea of No Contest Tuesday and was sentenced to 45 years in prison, State Attorney Larry Basford Announced.

Jeffrey Schuller, 53, accepted a plea agreement after a Washington County Jury was selected to hear the evidence in the 2023 killing of Dawn Langford. Washington County Circuit Judge

Timothy Register accepted the plea and adjudicated the defendant guilty before sentencing him

to 45 years in prison. Prosecutor Megan Ford was prepared to show the jury that on July 12, 2023, at approximately 5:30 a.m., the body of a woman was found on a rural dirt road near Wausau. She had been fatally shot. The victim was later identified as Dawn Langford, a resident of Bay County.

A thorough investigation by the Washington County Sheriff’s Office, in collaboration with the

Bay County Sheriff’s Office, FDLE, and the Florida Highway Patrol, led to the arrest of Jeffrey

Schuller. Surveillance footage, forensic evidence, and witness statements linked Schuller to the

Crime. Search warrants on the defendant’s residence and vehicle revealed a 9mm Taurus handgun with a rare type of ammunition — identical to the casing found beside the victim. It was hidden in a closet. DNA evidence and tire tracks that matched the defendant’s truck further connected Schuller to the scene.

Ford and Basford said they are grateful to Washington County Sheriff Kevin Crews and Capt. Kenny Brock, as well as Bay County Sheriff’s Office Capt. Jason Daffin and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for their efforts on this case.