NOCATEE, Fla. – The St. Johns County Sheriff's Office responded Saturday afternoon to investigate the suspicious deaths of a man and woman in a Nocatee neighborhood.
Deputies were called to 203 Southern Oak Drive in a Nocatee neighborhood near Twenty Mile Park.
Detectives said the man and woman were found dead by a family member and friend around noon on Saturday. They went to check on the woman after not hearing from her.
It's unclear what the relationship was between the man and woman. St. Johns County Sheriff's Office spokesman Chuck Mulligan said it appears the bodies may have been in the home for a while.
"There doesn't appear to be any threat to the community here, that's a positive, but on the negative, we have two deceased individuals and that's never good no matter what the circumstances are," Mulligan said. "We haven't released any evidence of what we found in the house at this point and time, but detectives were able to say that it was not a natural death."
Part of the investigation will be for deputies to determine if there are weapons in the home.
"It's heartbreaking. I'm heartbroken for her. I'm really dumbfounded and can't really process it," neighbor Jane Amorim said.
Neighbors said they didn't hear anything but they did notice a car parked there since last Thursday.
"(It's) just the car that parked there for just a little bit too long, and I kind of feel neglectful for not having paid more attention to the car and you ignore it. I realize now, it was odd," Amorim said.
An autopsy could be done as soon as Monday.
"She was very outgoing, willing to share and wanting to integrate into our little community," said neighbor Nicholas Romano.
Neighbors said the woman was a real estate agent. They said she was sweet and new to the community. They said she would walk her dog in the neighborhood and Amorim said they bonded over their dogs.
"I'm sorry that I didn't get more time to get to know her, Amorim said.
Neighbors said the woman had taken out a restraining order against a man she claimed was stalking her, but that has not been confirmed by police.
"She seemed very, very lovely and didn't seem to have any stress and was very happy to be here and was looking toward a future of living here in Nocatee," Romano said.
The identities of the victims have not been released.
"She didn't deserve that," Amorim said. "Nobody does, but having known her personally it's all the sadder."