Police finish searching for bodies at Jacksonville ‘house of horrors'

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Police have finished searching a Jacksonville property where a young woman's body was found on Feb. 11.

Police said they do not yet know the identity of the woman, but believe she was between teen-aged and 30 years old.

A memorial for the woman lies against a fence in the yard of 54-year-old Richard Tillis’ home.

Investigators found the remains on Bowden Circle East after receiving a tip.

Sources tell Action News Jax an inmate told police there might have been a body at Tillis' home.

Detectives searched Friday for more bodies with shovels and sifters in the backyard of Tillis’ home, more than a week after they found the body.

Tillis is in jail on unrelated charges.

An assistant state attorney and medical examiner's office vehicle were at the scene last week.

Neighbors said they were aware of what was going on, and none of them were surprised that the focus of the investigation is a home that many described as evil.

“People were scared of him. He'd throw things at people, is what I heard. (He's a) pure mean, evil person (who) should have been locked up a long time ago,” neighbor Brenda Smith said last week.

A police report from last May detailed an incident in which officers tried to serve Tillis two active warrants.

It said Tillis ran away from them and led them through an area where he had placed boards with 4-inch nails facing upward.

Cox Media Group