William J. "Bill" Sheaffer

William J. "Bill" Sheaffer died on 13 October 2026 at the age of 78. WFTV announced his death the same day in a tribute co-written by Brody Wooddell and Greg Warmoth. No cause of death was made public, and early coverage did not specify a place of death beyond Central Florida.

Warmoth called him one of the station's legends and said he planned a personal tribute on that evening's Channel 9 Eyewitness News. No funeral details had been announced in the first reports.

Sheaffer was 78 when he died in October 2026, which places his birth around 1947 or 1948. Public profiles describe him as the son of a long distance truck driver who never lost sight of his Central Florida roots.

He served four years in the United States Navy as a corpsman. He later graduated cum laude from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy in 1975, then earned his Juris Doctor from Nova Southeastern University's Shepard Broad Law Center in 1978. He was admitted to The Florida Bar that year.

After law school Sheaffer worked as a trial division felony prosecutor for the Orange-Osceola State Attorney's Office. He then built a private criminal defense practice in Orlando as principal of William J. Sheaffer, P.A., handling serious felonies including murder and white collar cases. He held an AV rating in Martindale-Hubbell and was board certified in criminal trial practice by The Florida Bar and the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

In 2008 he joined WFTV Channel 9 as a legal analyst. Viewers came to know his suspenders, humor and measured style. He and anchor Greg Warmoth covered the Casey Anthony trial in 2011 and the George Zimmerman trial in 2013, with Channel 9's online coverage drawing a worldwide audience during the Anthony case. He also appeared on ABC World News Tonight, CNN, HLN, Nightline, The Nancy Grace Show and other programs.

In March 2012 he left WFTV to run for Ninth Judicial Circuit Court judge in Orange and Osceola counties, then halted the campaign in April citing family illness. He later returned to legal commentary, including coverage tied to the Pulse nightclub cases.

At the time of his death Sheaffer was survived by his partner, Irene, along with relatives, friends, colleagues and viewers who had come to trust his voice. Public reports of his death did not name children. Colleagues remembered his warmth in the newsroom as much as his courtroom credentials.

Sheaffer is remembered as the lawyer who translated Florida's hardest cases for ordinary viewers without losing sight of the people involved. His UCF alumni award, bar certifications and years beside Warmoth on Channel 9 left him as a familiar voice of Central Florida television and criminal law. Warmoth's farewell summed him up as a good lawyer, a good friend and a very good man.