Slaying Victim Was 'Epitome Of Integrity'

In the wake of his murder, friends are grieving the loss of a man described as the "epitome of integrity."

Steven Van Slyke was strangled to death in his Brooksville home by a homeless man on Monday, police say. Monty Albright, 35, is being held at the county jail on suspicion of first-degree murder.

On Friday, friends described the 58-year-old property appraiser as a warm and happy man who was always laughing.

"He looked at life in a very positive way," said Joanne Schoch.

Schoch and her husband, Dennis, met Van Slyke when he was still working as a Realtor. Joanne Schoch remembers him as "very knowledgeable" about property laws and described him as thorough and detailed-oriented.

She said Van Slyke was always willing to give up his time to train new real estate agents in the field and show them ways to increase their efficiency.

Harry Timmons Sr., a broker at Century 21 Alliance in Brooksville, said Van Slyke was always willing to put "tremendous" amounts of time into his profession.

Much of that time was spent on committees, mentoring realtors and reinforcing the strong ethics the job requires.

"He had a lot of integrity," Timmons said. "He was very respected in the Realtor wor ld. No question about it."

Asked to elaborate on the ethics needed by a real estate agent, Dennis Schoch said there are some people in the business who shouldn't be there.

"They aren't really dishonest, but they're looking for gray areas," he said.

Van Slyke took a "dim view" of those people and never approached that line, Schoch said.

Police continued to investigate Van Slyke's slaying on Friday. Chief George Turner said detectives are still working on a time line by retracing Van Slyke's last steps and the movement of their suspect after Monday.

"We're re-interviewing everyone," Turner said.

After Joanne Schoch went into the animal rescue business and Van Slyke moved into property appraisal, the two didn't cross paths as often. She assumed that there would be time to catch up, but she's since learned that "time's a terrible thing to waste."

It's her hope that people remember Van Slyke as a person, not a homicide victim.

"He was so much more than what happened to him," she said.