‘Who would want to hurt her?’: Family seeks justice after beloved 18-year-old found dead near river

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A local family is demanding answers after their beloved 18-year-old was found dead.

Santeria Williams was a Ribault High School senior and police say she was discovered near the Trout River and based on evidence at the scene, they suspect foul play.

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“That’s my granddaughter, right now I feel like my whole heart was torn out,” Deborah Caul said.

There were cries for justice as family mourned the loss. Her grandmother, Deborah Caul, said none of it makes sense.

“Teri was my baby, she was my baby girl, she was so little who would want to hurt her?” Caul said. “It hurts so bad, it hurts so bad.”

Family members say Williams went missing early Tuesday morning after getting a call from someone at roughly 2 a.m.

“She went and took a shower, put her pajamas on and went to bed,” Caul said. “Somebody called her and whoever it was that called her, called her to her death.”

Caul says they reported it to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office but claim hardly anything was done, saying there was little effort made.

“Just tell us, is anybody interested in her missing? They made us feel like they didn’t care, they didn’t care and look what happened to her because they slacked on doing their job,” Caul said.

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Action News Jax reached out to JSO about what steps were taken during all of this, but we are still waiting on a response.

Williams’ cousin, Arneka Green, said Santeria just turned 18 years old in December and that her bubbly personality will be remembered.

“Teri was full of life, she didn’t mess with anybody, she always smiling,” Green said.

For now, the family tells Action News Jax they have too many unanswered questions.

“We don’t know anything, we just want justice for our cousin,” Green said.

Police said they weren’t ready to discuss the specifics when they mentioned foul play, but both JSO and family are asking if you know anything about her death, to give them a call.

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