‘I didn't come to see that': Handyman recounts scene of Jacksonville killing

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Action News Jax reporter Ryan Nelson is on the scene working to find what may have led up to the man's death. 

Leon Bridges says he showed up to work and saw a body.

“I just come to do work,” said Bridges. “I didn’t come to see that.”

Officers say they responded to McQuade Street around 10:30 this morning in reference to a man found unresponsive inside a house.

Bridges told Action News Jax he’s renovating the house with its owner and says the owner found the naked body on a couch inside this morning.

“He kind of got freaked out,” said Bridges.

Bridges said he and a friend went inside the home. He said they called out to the victim, but he did not respond.

According to Bridges’ account, the man’s clothes were nearby, and his head was bloodied.

“He looked like his head was split,” he said. “Like, open. Like somebody had hit him in the head with something.”

He tells us he had trouble processing what he had witnessed.

“Like you see in the movies, you just walk in, you see a dead body. First thing in your mind is, 'Hell, let me get up out of here,'” he said.

Police believe the man was killed inside the house but did not say how at the time of this afternoon’s briefing.

Investigators are working to determine who the victim is and what he was doing in the house.

The owner told police nobody was living in the house and he didn’t know the man killed inside.

Police say they need your help in this case. Anyone with information is encouraged to contact the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office or remain anonymous by calling Crime Stoppers.

This story is developing. Check back for more updates or follow us on Twitter @actionnewsjax. 

Cox Media Group