CLAY COUNTY, Fla. – The Clay County Sheriff's Office says a woman was found dead Thursday night at a home in Oakleaf Plantation, and deputies believe her estranged husband killed her.
Deputies responded to a home in the 3700 block of Pondview Drive off Plantation Oaks Boulevard just before 11 p.m. and found 33-year-old Lashawna Criswell-Seward dead.
Authorities said the woman's estranged husband, 44-year-old Adrian Seward, fled the area and is still at large, and a search was underway to locate him. Deputies said they have increased certainty Seward is the suspect in the fatal shooting, and he is considered armed and dangerous.
Deputies said the suspect vehicle they're looking for is a black, four-door 2002 Hyundai sedan with Florida license plate No. 7955HJ.
Anyone with information on Seward's location should call 911.
Deputies told Channel 4 Thursday night that the incident was domestic in nature. Clay County court records show a dissolution of marriage order was finalized Monday.
Some neighbors said they heard several gunshots Thursday night.
"I really didn't think it was gunshots at first. It was scary," said neighbor Amber Craven. "I didn't know what it was actually. And then when all the police came I figured that's what it was."
One neighbor told Channel 4 the two involved in the dispute were married and in the process of separating. They said the couple had just sold the house and were moving things out. They also said they had a young daughter, but weren't sure if she was home at the time.
"She was home and he came home afterwards. She was moving. She had somebody help her move stuff in there [a storage pod] and he must have got upset or something. She was scared, so she went over to the next-door neighbor's house to get help. But he ran over there and shot her," said neighbor Russell Stedt. "They say she was moving stuff down to her friends house because I guess they were getting separated."
Witnesses of the shooting said the woman went to the neighbor's house asking for help, but her husband followed her there.
"She was banging on the neighbors door asking for help. He came in behind her, shot her three times. She was in a kneeling position, in a praying position, and all she kept saying was, 'What about Bailey?'" said neighbor Thomas Terry.
Terry said the man fled the scene after the shooting.
"Very calmly got into his car and drove very calmly out of the neighborhood," said Terry.
Craven, along with other neighbors, said the Oakleaf Plantation area is a safe neighborhood, and they were shocked to hear what happened Thursday.
"I was just a little scared. This isn't something that happens in this area. A little shocking so close to home. Scary that it could happen to anybody or anywhere," said Craven.
On the other hand, some neighbors said they don't feel surprised about the shooting.
"Not surprising. We have a lot of crime in this area. The fact that the Duval County line is right here, Clay County, and there's a lot of woods, a lot of areas where people can hide and run. So we have a lot of crime out here," said Terry.
Terry said he is worried for his own family.
"What's frightening about it is that I have children and these things just explode at any given time," said Terry.
A manhunt for the suspect is underway. If you have any information on the killing, you are asked to call the Clay County Sheriff's Office at 904-264-6512.