JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The scene of a haunting discovery has officers with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office keeping watch about 24 hours after police say the owner of an Allendale rental property found a body in the backyard.
A woman, who wants to remain unnamed, said she moved out of the home on West Ninth Street near St. Clair Street in October.
“I lived there for five years, and I had no problems with my neighbors or anybody,” the woman said.
Wednesday’s discovery has the former renter of the home shaken.
“It’s so strange. It’s odd. It’s shocking,” she said.
A police report shows the owner initially found a box in the ground in the backyard. When officers arrived, they found the human remains toward a fence, several feet from the house. Detectives say the decomposed body appeared to have been there for a while and was partially covered.
The former tenant told News4JAX that she never noticed anything suspicious while living at the home.
“My dogs were there in the backyard. We had gatherings. My grandchildren, children everybody came there. There was never anything unusual,” she said.
She says new renters moved in not long after her. According to JSO, the home is currently vacant and has been for a short time. Detectives say the owner was cleaning up the home for it to be rented out on Wednesday afternoon when he uncovered the human remains.
According to JSO’s calls for service, police were called to the home four different times on March 13 to investigate and they responded again on April 15, also to investigate. It’s unclear what police were investigating.
“I hope they find out who it is and there is some kind of justice,” the former tenant said.
The former tenant hopes more questions can be answered about the haunting discovery at her old home.
Investigators have not identified the body at this time. The medical examiner is working to determine the cause of death.
According to JSO, the owner of the rental property is cooperating with police. News4JAX made efforts to reach out to him on Thursday but has not been able to get in contact with him.