Man turns self in after girlfriend found with knife in chest in Jacksonville

A man turned himself into police after his girlfriend was found dead with a knife in her chest outside a Jacksonville mobile home park on Tuesday.

Jose Montanez, 40, walked into a Jacksonville Sheriff's Office substation on Tuesday around 9 a.m. morning and said he had done something bad to his wife.

The JSO officer who he was talking with saw a call had been dispatched to Townsend Road for a homicide.

Maribel Perez-Ortiz, 38, was found dead with a knife in her chest in the driver seat of a car.

Family disputes Montanez's claim that he killed her because she admitted to cheating on him.

Montanez and Perez-Ortiz were from Puerto Rico and had been dating for 3 1/2 years.

Montanez told police he saw a car leave their driveway after she climbed into bed on Monday night.

He said he woke up at 4 a.m. and she was no longer in bed. He saw the same car outside across the street. It left the house and Perez-Ortiz walked over to him.

Montanez confronted her and she denied any wrongdoing and they went to bed.

The argument continued Tuesday morning and Montanez said she admitted she had been unfaithful to him.

Montanez said she also insulted him and his manhood, according to police.

Perez-Ortiz decided to leave and went out to her car, where the argument continued.

Montanez went inside, grabbed a knife and stabbed her in the chest. He then left the house.

Perez-Ortiz's teenage children called police when they found her wounded in the driver seat of the car.

Montanez was booked into jail and charged with second degree murder.

Cox Media Group