Florida never fails to deliver the most unbelievable stories in America.
The latest chapter involves two roommates, years of simmering tension, and a crossbow.
And a Florida man tried to kill his roommate with a crossbow after this shocking discovery.
Monday’s trash discovery sparked deadly Tuesday morning plot
George Henry Balboni thought he had the perfect plan to solve his roommate problem.
The 61-year-old Key Largo man had been feuding with his 69-year-old roommate for years over various issues.
But Monday’s discovery pushed Balboni over the edge.
His roommate went through the trash and found an empty vodka bottle.
That’s when Balboni decided his roommate had to die.
Early Tuesday morning around 6 a.m., Balboni lured his roommate to a vehicle on their Largo Road property.
Then he aimed a crossbow at the man’s head and fired.
The arrow missed its target, only grazing the victim’s ear and leaving a minor cut.
But the 69-year-old roommate wasn’t going down without a fight.
A physical struggle broke out between the two men.
The victim managed to wrestle the crossbow away from Balboni and used it to strike him, knocking him to the ground.
Balboni called his roommate a "parasite" and showed no remorse
When Monroe County Sheriff’s deputies arrived at the scene, they found Balboni lying in the front yard bleeding from facial injuries.
Several arrows were scattered around him on the ground.
The victim led deputies to Balboni and explained what had happened.
During questioning, Balboni admitted to shooting the crossbow at his roommate.
He called the 69-year-old man a "parasite" and told deputies he tried to kill him.
Balboni said he had "no remorse" for attempting to murder his roommate.
The attempted murder was premeditated, according to Balboni’s own admission to law enforcement.
He told deputies that finding the vodka bottle in Monday’s trash made him angry enough to decide his roommate needed to die.
Monroe County Sheriff Rick Ramsay addressed the incident in a statement.
"Violence is never the answer to a roommate dispute," Ramsay said. "It’s much easier to separate yourself from the situation, but this person did the total opposite and now faces very serious criminal charges."
Balboni was transported to Mariners Hospital in Tavernier for treatment of his head injuries before being taken to jail.
He was charged with attempted murder.
The victim didn’t require hospitalization and is expected to make a full recovery.
Years of arguments finally exploded into attempted murder
Look, roommate disputes happen everywhere in America.
But most people don’t grab medieval weapons when they get angry about household issues.
The Monroe County Sheriff’s Office revealed that Balboni and his roommate had been living together for several years.
Both men admitted to deputies that they had a long history of arguments and ongoing tension.
But Balboni took their disagreements to a deadly new level when he decided an empty vodka bottle in the trash justified attempted murder.
Think about the planning that went into this attack.
Balboni didn’t act in the heat of the moment – he stewed over that vodka bottle discovery for an entire day before deciding to kill his roommate.
He lured the victim to a specific location on their property.
He had his crossbow ready and aimed for the man’s head.
This wasn’t a momentary lapse in judgment – this was premeditated attempted murder over household trash.
Here’s what makes this story even more disturbing.
Balboni showed absolutely zero remorse when caught.
He called his roommate a "parasite" and admitted he was trying to kill him.
Most people would at least pretend they didn’t mean it or claim it was an accident.
Not Balboni – he was proud of what he tried to do.
The 69-year-old victim is lucky to be alive.
If Balboni’s aim had been just a few inches better, we’d be talking about a murder case instead of attempted murder.
Florida’s reputation for bizarre and violent crime just got another chapter added to its already thick book of unbelievable stories.
Balboni now faces serious criminal charges that could put him behind bars for years.
All because he couldn’t handle finding an empty vodka bottle in the trash.
¹ Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, "Key Largo Man Arrested for Allegedly Trying to Kill His Roommate with a Crossbow," The Weekly, September 16, 2025.
² Gershon Harrell, "Florida man accused of attempting to shoot roommate with crossbow over trash dispute," CBS12, September 16, 2025.
³ Staff Writer, "Man charged with attempted murder with crossbow," Keys Weekly, September 17, 2025.
⁴ Nancy Gay, "Florida man accused of shooting at ‘parasite’ roommate with an arrow," Yahoo News, September 17, 2025.
