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JSO: Ex-boyfriend arrested in fatal shooting of girlfriend at apartments near UNF

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Police say the ex-boyfriend of a woman who was found shot to death Monday at an apartment complex near the University of North Florida has confessed to shooting her.

Robert Francis Schulze, 58, is charged with the murder of Charlotte Branton, 57, according to Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Assistant Chief Chris Butler.

JSO responded to reports of a shooting at the Retreat at St. Johns apartment complex Monday afternoon.

Officers found Branton with one gunshot wound to the head. At the time, Shoals called police, telling them he went to help her move out and and found her with the wound.

Terri Cavoli took photos as Schulze waited outside his ex-girlfriend's apartment while police processed the scene.

In the photos, he's seen with his head in his hands. Then the camera catches him being frisked by deputies just before getting put in the back of the police car.

Cavoli snapped the photos, knowing there was more to the story than neighbors were being told.

"They weren't really clear on what was going on but they did do a search of him and they put him in the backseat so I figured he wasn't off the hook," Cavoli said.

"I thought that was kinda weird that the ex-boyfriend walked in on his ex-girlfriend and found her dead with gunshot wounds. That kinda raised a red flag," said neighbor Charles Elliott.

When JSO re-interviewed Shoals, he confessed to shooting Branton.

Butler said there is no known motive at this time, but Branton and Shoals were boyfriend and girlfriend for five months and it came to an abrupt end just days before the shooting. Branton was in the process of moving out of state, police say.