Jacksonville man's mother, ex-stepfather arrested in connection with his murder

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office announced three arrests in connection with the murder of a man who was reported missing in March.

Two of the people arrested are the man's ex-stepfather and his mother.

Jamel Kelly was last seen alive on March 6, JSO Chief Scott Dingee said. Police were initially called to Langford Street that night.

Stacey Studemire, Kelly's mother, and Kelly's girlfriend spoke with police. They said four men chased Kelly away from his house and he hadn't been seen since. It was later determined that one of the men was Kelly's ex-stepfather Gerod Studemire.

Kelly's mother downplayed the incident, Dingee said. Officers searched the area, didn't find Kelly, didn't find evidence of a crime and documented the incident in an information report.

Dingee said Kelly was living with his mother, Stacey Studemire, and they were having domestic issues. Investigators believe Stacey Studemire called Gerod Studemire to confront Kelly about those domestic issues.

Dingee said investigators believe Studemire killed Kelly on March 6.

On March 9, Kelly's ex-girlfriend called police to report that Kelly was still missing. She said she hadn't heard from Kelly and he hadn't been on social media and hadn't been seen by anyone else. She said this was completely out of character for Kelly.

Officers searched for Kelly again and did not find him.

On March 10, JSO's missing persons unit was notified. Based on the information those detectives found, they had reason to believe Kelly was dead.

By then, the case had been upgraded to a missing person case and Kelly had been entered into a national database of missing persons.

On March 13, JSO's homicide unit was contacted. After a detailed investigation, those detectives also had reason to believe Kelly was dead and had been killed by Studemire.

Investigators said they have evidence to prove that, after killing Kelly that night, Studemire and another individual loaded Kelly's body into Studemire's 1999 Lincoln Continental.

Some time after that night, the Lincoln Continental was burned and destroyed. Kelly's body has still not been located, Dingee said.

On Wednesday, Kelly's mother, Stacey Studemire, was arrested on a charge of accessory after the fact to a murder. On Thursday, Shaakira Atwater, one of Studemire's multiple girlfriends, was arrested on a charge of accessory after the fact to a murder.

On Friday, Gerod Studemire was arrested by JSO's SWAT Team on charges of murder and evidence tampering. Dingee said Studemire is being held in the Duval County Jail on a bond of over $1 million.

Officers believe there are more people involved in this case and anticipate more arrests.

Dingee said JSO does not have the burned Lincoln Continental in its possession, so investigators are trying to determine where the car is located. The car has Florida tag number AEHK07.

Anyone with any information in this case is asked to contact JSO at 904-630-0500. Those who wish to remain anonymous and be eligible for a reward of up to $3,000 are asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS (8477).

Cox Media Group