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Tips, investigative efforts lead to arrest in May 2022 murder, police say

Man found unresponsive at Northwest Jacksonville apartment last year died at scene

Booking photo of Keron Xavier Willis (Provided by Jacksonville Sheriff's Office)

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Months after finding an unresponsive man in an apartment on Kings Park Drive off Kings Road in Northwest Jacksonville, the Sheriff’s Office announced an arrest Friday in the man’s murder.

According to police, “numerous crime tips and leads” were reported by members of the community and helped in the investigation, which led to the arrest of Keron Xavier Willis, 46.

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Around 11 a.m. May 18, patrol officers responded to a death investigation on Kings Park Drive. They met paramedics at the scene who said the man died.

Initially, JSO would only say that foul play was suspected in the man’s “suspicious” death, although they originally reported the incident as a “person stabbed.” They have not said how he died.

Police said they responded to the apartment after family members came over because they had not been able to get in contact with the man.

Police were called to investigate Wednesday in the Kings Park Drive area. (Copyright 2022 by WJXT News4JAX - All rights reserved.)

Members of JSO’s Homicide and Crime Scene Units began their respective investigations at the scene, and following a detailed investigation, evaluation of available evidence and the vetting of tips that came in from the community, detectives identified Willis as the suspect, police said.

“As a result of the dedicated work and perseverance by the JSO’s Homicide Unit, Crime Scene Unit, SWAT, Zone 5 Officers, and the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Willis was arrested,” JSO said. “We would like to thank our community for the numerous crime tips and leads provided which assisted in bringing this suspect to justice.”


About the Author
Francine Frazier headshot

A Jacksonville native and proud University of North Florida alum, Francine Frazier has been with News4Jax since 2014 after spending nine years at The Florida Times-Union.

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