JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A man was stabbed to death Monday morning in Murray Hill and the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office believes it might have been in self-defense.
Investigators said the man, believed to be in his 30s, arrived at a home on Ernest Avenue around 8:30 a.m. and asked to speak with someone who didn’t live there.
The homeowners, a man and his girlfriend in their 60s, told JSO they tried explaining that the person he was asking for didn’t live there.
Then a fight broke out, JSO said.
During the fight, the male homeowner eventually grabbed a knife and stabbed the man, according to JSO.
The man was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said they don’t know who the man is and wouldn’t give the name of the person who he was asking for, but investigators said they are looking for that person and for additional surveillance video. JSO is also looking to identify the man who died.
JSO said the homeowners were not hurt and are being interviewed by investigators.
At the home near the front door, News4Jax could see a flower pot knocked over, but there was no visible blood until the end of the driveway.
News4Jax spoke with neighbors who say they haven’t had the best interactions with the homeowner and one neighbor says the incident doesn’t surprise him at all.
News4Jax didn’t get answers from the people inside the home where the fight happened.
“I mean that’s very odd, it’s very quiet around here,” said neighbor Christiana-Joy Waugaman. “It seems like the people around here are either know each other or keep to themselves.”
JSO says that’s when a fight broke out and the homeowner grabbed a knife off the front porch and stabbed the man.
“If you’re at the wrong house, I don’t know how that leads to a fight,” said Ken Jefferson, News4Jax Crime and Safety Expert.
Jefferson says if police can find one, they need a third witness, which could be surveillance video.
Police say this could be a case of self-defense, and Jefferson says it would fall under the Castle Laws.
“My advice would be when answering your door if you’re not expecting someone, don’t answer the door. And if they try to come in, call the police,” Jefferson said.
No arrests have been made in the case.