A man recently made a gruesome discovery after finding "toes sticking out of the ground" while gardening.
Last Thursday, police were called to a home on Sunny Acres Drive in Jacksonville, Florida, after a man stumbled across human remains in his backyard while he was doing a spot of gardening.
Speaking to local news station News4JAX, a woman who was working at the property revealed they were forced to call 911 after the gruesome discovery.
"We were working inside the house and then the owner came to us and said 'Hey, there is something here. We have to call 911.' I said 'OK.' I was shook," said a woman who was helping the unnamed owner with some renovations at the property.
"They were all black and stuff. But I guess that was from decomposing," the woman, who did not want to be identified publicly also added. "I just hope that everything gets solved. My reaction to this is just craziness. I would never expect this, especially at a house that I am working at."
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office arrived at the scene accompanied by Florida Gulf Coast University’s forensics unit and the two teams began conducting an extensive examination on the scene.
"Me and my son, we both was here and we were just looking around trying to see what else we need to do to the house," the homeowner stated, explaining the renovation they'd been doing. "We put new windows and new kitchen and bathroom. Just trying to make it right for the next homeowner."
He then added: "I want to offer my condolences to the young person or to the person they found at my property. No family at all should have to go through that at all. That’s the first thing I want to say. No family should have to go through that.
"I don’t know who that is, I don’t know what the situation is," he concluded.
Word of the investigation got around the Magnolia Gardens neighborhood and a neighbor, Cassandra Womack, expressed her shock upon hearing the news.
"This is a quiet neighborhood, so this is something that rarely happens. I still feel safe here, and we all know each other and we’re like family," Womack told News4JAX. "That’s a hurtful feeling, having someone that’s lost and you don’t even know what’s going on with them. I’m praying for the family, I know that’s going to be detrimental to them."
Now it all lies in the hands of the forensics team to see if they can identify the deceased individual.
Safety Analyst Tom Hackney discussed the what next steps will be with the outlet, stating that it is a meticulous process that could take "days" to see any sort of outcome.
"It may take days before they actually get to the point where they render a decision that gives to the investigators who this is," Hackney said, before adding: "Investigators want that quicker because once again when you start that murder investigation to figure out who somebody is, that’s the first piece of the puzzle that you need to try to figure out what happened to them."
An update revealed that the case is now pending the medical examiner's final report.
We hope that answers will be found very soon.
.jpg_yIqWrR?tr=h-40&config=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)
.jpg_yIqWrR?tr=h-184&config=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)
