JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man and a woman who police said were shot and killed Sunday night after an argument between the two at a home in the Paxon neighborhood had a troubled relationship going back several years, according to the woman's family.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office, the two were found outside a house on West Second Street when officers arrived just after 9:30 p.m. Sunday. The man died at the scene and the woman was transported to a hospital, where she died.
Investigators said the two people in their 20s knew each other but have not said how they are related. By policy, Jacksonville police will not identify the man and woman who died. But the woman was identified by family as 24-year-old Khina Culler, a mother of three children ages 7 and younger who was funny, caring and hardworking.
"I’m still trying to process it ... I have been up all night crying, trying to hold it in, and it’s hard to," Tiki Stafford, Culler's mother, told News4Jax on Monday. "I just think this is a hole that is not going to be filled and I don’t even think time is going to fill it. So it’s devastating."
WATCH: Police investigate after man and woman fatally shot in Paxon |
Mother remembers young woman killed in shooting
Sunday was Culler's mother's birthday and Culler threw her a surprise party before the shooting happened.
"She wasn’t gone an hour and a half," Stafford said. "As soon as I got in my driveway, I got the call from her friend that I needed to get there, that she had been shot."
Stafford said her 4-year-old granddaughter saw the whole thing.
"She is traumatized," Stafford said. "She knows what happened and all she was saying, that, 'I want to go to Mommy's house.' and I’m, like, 'You can’t go to Mommy's house. Mom is not there anymore. Mommy is not coming back.'"
According to Culler's family, Culler and the man used to be in a relationship together and have two children together, but over the last few years, there have been ongoing issues involving domestic violence.
"It’s just been an ongoing thing and it’s sad on both ends because he is deceased as well so, you know, we’ve got three kids (who) don’t have a mother or a father," Stafford said.
According to JSO calls for service, police had been to the house on West Second Street more than 30 times dating back to Jan. 1, 2016, including for a shooting that year. The calls for service show there have been 11 domestic disturbances, three assaults, an incident in which a shot was fired and eight times when a domestic injunction was served.
Stafford said she feels like the system failed her daughter and offered a message to other women who might be going through a similar situation.
"Nip it in the bud as soon as you see there's a violent (incident)," she said. "Nip it in the bud. It ain’t going to get no better and, unfortunately, my daughter died."
A GoFundMe account has been set up to help support Culler's three children.
Detectives interviewed several others who were at the home when the gunfire rang out. They said they are not looking for any suspects.
To learn more about domestic violence or get help, the following resources are available:
- Hubbard House (Baker and Duval counties): hubbardhouse.org or 904-354-3114
- Micah's Place (Nassau County): micahsplace.org or 904-225-9979
- Betty Griffin Center (St. Johns County): bettygriffincenter.org or 904-824-1555
- Quigley House (Clay County): quigleyhouse.org or 904-284-0061
- Lee Conlee House (Putnam County): leeconleehouse.org or 386-325-3141
- Peaceful Paths (Bradford, Alachua and Union counties): peacefulpaths.org or 352-377-8255
- National Domestic Violence Hotline: thehotline.org or 1-800-799-7233
