Family of Jacksonville man suspected of murdering girlfriend calls him 'a demon'

A Jacksonville hair stylist's boyfriend was booked into jail on Wednesday, charged with her murder.

The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office found Cassandra Valentin stabbed to death in her Moncrief home on Monday.

“I have to look at that house when I come out. I hate to do that. When I look at it, it reminds me of her, you know?” said William Turpin, who lives next door to the home where Valentin was murdered.

JSO said Valentin’s boyfriend Marvin Williams tried to run from officers on Wednesday, but was taken into custody.

“Face the demons that you have always had in your life,” said Williams’ cousin Sarah Hill Lawver. “He’s a demon.”

Action News Jax found documentation of Williams’ violent past, including a 2013 injunction for domestic violence after Valentin said Williams showed up at her home with a knife. Valentin said Williams beat her, raped her and threatened to kill her.

“He’s not a type of person that I would even want to be 10 feet around,” Lawver said.

In 2012, Valentin reported that Williams fractured bones in her face, but the injunction was dismissed because Valentin did not show up for court.

Williams also served 15 years in prison for a 1995 assault and armed robbery in South Carolina.

“My son over there -- he went to school with her -- and he told her, said ‘That ****** is going to kill you. You need to let him go.’ And she said, ‘I’m lonesome,’” Turpin said.

Action News Jax has requested a copy of Williams’ arrest warrant.

Cox Media Group