JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Jacksonville police identified a 61-year-old woman who was found dead Friday in a Lakeshore home.
Bryce Martin told Action News Jax his grandfather, Billy Ray Martin, and grandmother, Lou Ellen Martin, were the only two people who lived in the house on Urban Road.
Police said Lou Ellen Martin was killed in a homicide.
Bryce Martin said his family noticed his grandfather had been acting strangely over the last few weeks and suspected something might be wrong. But Bryce Martin said they never expected him to turn violent.
“Since the new year began, he’s been pretty delusional,” Bryce Martin said. “It was him. It was his physical body, but it wasn’t who he used to be."
Action News Jax did a public records search of the property and confirmed a man matching Billy Ray Martin lives in the home.
Billy Martin was taken into custody for battery Thursday and was placed under the Baker Act, which means he was involuntarily committed for psychiatric treatment. However, Bryce Martin said he believes that stemmed from a separate assault incident his grandfather was previously involved in at Publix.
“I don’t want people to remember him as a monster, a killer, because I loved him and I still love him,” Bryce Martin said.
Bryce Martin said his grandparents had been married for 39 years.
Cox Media Group
