Man charged in death of 25-year-old woman at Southside apartment complex

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man has been arrested in connection with the death of a 25-year-old woman at a Southside apartment complex, according to Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office records.

Markas Fishburne, 25, was arrested Friday and booked early Saturday morning into the Duval County jail on charges of second-degree murder, tampering with evidence and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, according to online jail records.

It’s not the first time Markas Fishburne has been in the Duval County jail. Jail records show he was booked Dec. 12 on a charge of domestic battery and was released the next day. Kent Fishburne, who identified himself as Fishburne’s father, told News4Jax that involved him. He said he didn’t press charges, but was hoping his son would get help because he’s struggled with drugs. But he said he never though his son would be accused in a murder.

Friday afternoon, according to the Sheriff’s Office, investigators were called to the Green Tree Place Apartments on Princeton Square Boulevard, off of Baymeadows Road, after a man came home from work and found his apartment covered in blood. Kent Fishburne said he spoke with his son that morning.

“I talked to him and he seemed fine. He didn’t seem like somebody that just got done doing something crazy like that," he said.

Inside the apartment, investigators found a young woman who they said they believe had been killed during a struggle.

“There was a bunch of police in this little courtyard,” neighbor Miguel Gudino said. “It was for hours.”

Police said Friday night that they were able to track down a man they called a “person of interest," who was living part-time in the apartment, and he was taken into custody. The Sheriff’s Office said the young woman was believed to be the girlfriend of the man who first discovered the scene.

Kent Fishburne said his son and the couple were good friends.

“They used to come and pick him up all the time, spend the weekend at the house and everything. I had no idea that was anything going on. A lot of it just don’t make sense to me," Kent Fishburne said. "I don’t want to just be thinking, that just because he’s my son, to say he’s innocent. I hope that everything comes out that he is.”

Neighbors told News4Jax that they did not know the young woman well, but said she was always nice and their hearts go out to her family.

Jail records show Fishburne is being held without bond.