Bernard Chapple is pushing for justice nearly 12 years after his daughter, Kelli, was killed in a double murder.
“When you lose a child, it’s an indescribable pain that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy,” Chapple said.
That indiscernible pain began for him when his 23-year-old daughter was shot to death, and to this day, he doesn’t know why.
“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think about her,” Chapple said.
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Kelli had moved to Jacksonville from New York a few months before her murder.
It wasn’t long before she met someone, a man named David Matos.
“She told me ‘I met this guy.’ I said, ‘OK good, who is he?’, ‘Oh he’s from New York,'” Chapple recalled her saying.
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Chapple didn’t get a chance to meet Matos despite asking Kelli to introduce them.
On Sept. 8, 2007, Kelli and Matos were found shot to death in an apartment complex off University Boulevard.
Who killed Kelli Chapple? That’s the question that’s been on her dad’s mind for nearly 12 years. At 5 on CBS47 @ActionNewsJax, we’ll show you what JSO says it still needs to be able to solve this #ColdCase and finally get justice #florida #jacksonville pic.twitter.com/DIfTnHo4WQ
— Lorena Inclán (@LorenaANjax) February 15, 2019
Chapple said he first heard of a deadly shooting while watching the news. At the time, it didn’t occur to him it involved his daughter. Then, he got a phone call from one of Kelli’s co-workers.
“She says, ‘I believe Kelli is dead’,” Chapple said.
The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office got to the apartment around 3:30 that afternoon, after a friend of Matos found the bodies and called 911.
“Both of them were shot in different areas of the apartment,” said cold case detective Glenn Warkentien.
According to Warkentien, it didn’t look like the suspect or suspects forced their way in to the apartment.
The investigation revealed Matos had been selling drugs from the apartment.
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Kelli had only known Matos for about a month when they were both killed. Chapple believes his daughter got caught in the middle of a dispute.
“The people that came in there was there to rob him and they didn’t want to leave any witnesses so they shot my daughter twice in the head for no reason,” Chapple said.
One major challenge is that there were no eyewitnesses. But JSO said people in the community may hold the key to solving the case -- and their help is needed.
“If they’re brazen enough to go out there, middle of the day, and kill two people like that who’s to say they haven’t done again?” Warkentien said.
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Bernard often thinks about what could have become of his daughter. He believes she would likely be working with animals and might be a mom.
“She had a tender heart and she just loved to have fun. I want everyone to know she was a fun-loving young lady,” Chapple said. “She would’ve been magnificent.”
Anyone information that could help JSO solve this cold case or any other cold cases is urged to call Crimestoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS. You could be eligible for a cash reward if your tip leads to an arrest.
Cox Media Group
