Duval County

“It could have been me,” Jacksonville mom says Southside murder suspect attacked her repeatedly

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A local mom who said she was repeatedly and violently attacked by a Jacksonville murder suspect is speaking only with Action News Jax.

“Why did you want to do this?” Action News Jax Reporter Russell Colburn asked the mom.

“Because [Markas Fishburne] needs to be locked up,” She said. “I always thought that.”

The Jacksonville mom reached out to Action News Jax, saying Fishburne, 25, used to live with her family. She said he would routinely hit her and choke her, and he threatened to kill the people she loves.

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office said Fishburne beat a young woman to death during a struggle in a Baymeadows apartment.

JSO made the discovery last Friday at Green Tree Place Apartments.

Like one of the details in the woman’s allegations, JSO said Fishburne was living with the victim and her boyfriend.

“I have no words,” She said. “It could have been me.”

Court records show that she filed a repeat violence injunction against Fishburne in April.

In it, she stated that he choked her to the point she thought he was going to kill her. The document also stated that he head-butted her in the face and threatened to kill her family.

“We went to court before and he didn’t get in trouble for it, and now he’s where he belongs,” She said. “And this is not fair what he did to this other woman.”

Police also arrested Fishburne on December 12 on a battery charge. JSO said he head-butted his father.

Records show that Fishburne was on probation and was required to have a mental health evaluation and anger management training.

She said she dropped the injunction two weeks after filing it because Fishburne begged her to keep him out of jail for the sake of his son.

Court records confirm the injunction was dismissed, but the documents aren’t available for release yet. Action News Jax will keep you updated.

UPDATE 12/26/2019 - Court records show the woman’s injunction against Fishburne was dropped due to insufficient evidence.

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