More than a year after a young woman's death was reported as a suicide, her boyfriend is now charged with her murder.
Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office homicide unit Lt. Craig Waldrup said Sean Curtis Lovins told officers in July 2017 that 20-year-old Aunesty Hite shot and killed herself in a Pine Forest Apartment.
But Waldrup said the evidence told a different story.
“He had said things took place and evidence didn’t match up, physical evidence didn’t match up,” said Waldrup.
When JSO officers found Hite dead at Dunsford Terrace Apartments, Waldrup said Lovins was “distraught.”
“Homicide initiated an investigation and was able to determine evidence from the scene did not indicate the victim had shot herself,” said Waldrup.
Neighbor Misty Abrams came home that night to find her apartment complex had become a crime scene.
“We just remember pulling up in a cab and it was all roped off and the police were everywhere,” said Abrams. “You never know what happens behind closed doors. So, that’s just really sad.”
Hite’s friends describe her as someone who lit up every room she walked into.
Court records show Aunesty Hite and her ex-husband Trevor Hite filed for divorce three months before her death.
After Lovins’ arrest, Trevor Hite wrote in a Facebook post:
“Karma has come to pass. Aunestys murderer has officially been booked and charged. Justice will come to pass finally we all can only hope that not only the sentence that is carried out is Swift and just but that the memory never fades or falters on the bright light that once shown over us all.
Justice for a friend Justice for a daughter granddaughter and an amazingly talented and smart young woman. Keep guiding us and watching over us. We feel you with us here.”