JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police announced on Thursday the arrest of a man they said beat an elderly man to death, and then buried him in a shallow grave in Orange Park. They said slaying was financially motivated.
One week after human remains were found off Wells Road were identified, the Clay County Sheriff's Office said a 26-year-old man was arrested on a charge of murder.
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The partially buried, decomposed remains of 73-year-old Robert Neil-Laforge Knox, of Jacksonville, were discovered by children in a wooded area on Jan. 9.
Investigators said a blow to the head is what killed Knox. The victim was identified through analysis of a steel prosthesis in his lower left leg and by fingerprint comparison.
Jim McDuf was arrested in Columbia County and is expected to be transported to the Clay County Jail Thursday afternoon, according to Sheriff Rick Beseler.
Investigators said McDuf and Knox met at a homeless shelter, and then rented an Arlington home together using Knox's Social Security income.
The Clay County Sheriff's Office said that was when McDuf started stealing Knox's money.
"Living with Robert Knox, he had access to everything Knox had access to," said Lt. David Senters said.
Detectives said McDuf was living off Knox's Social Security checks, which he continued to cash after Knox was killed.
"We got a tip from someone in jail that Jim McDuf may have killed a roommate he was living with. Through following that investigation through records, and there were some bank records involved, we were able to link Mr. McDuf to Robert Knox," Senters said.
Authorities told Channel 4 McDuf made out with thousands of dollars of Knox's money.
Previous Stories:
- March 1, 2007: Bones Found In Orange Park Woods Identified
- January 12, 2007: Autopsy Fails To ID Remains Found In Woods
- January 11, 2007: Boys Find Skeleton In Orange Park Woods