A Jacksonville man is facing murder charges for his girlfriend’s 2017 death.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said he told officers she committed suicide in a Pine Forest apartment, but JSO's homicide unit says the evidence shows otherwise.
Sean Curtis Lovins, 27, appeared in court on Thursday. Police say it all happened at Dunsford Terrace Apartments.
JSO responded to a report of a woman's suicide on July 29, 2017. Officers found Aunesty Hite, 20, dead inside an apartment with a gunshot wound.
Lovins was arrested on a murder charge on Wednesday.
"Over the past year, various scientific tests were conducted that the victim did in fact not shoot herself," JSO homicide detective Craig Waldrud said. "Evidence indicted the suspect had shot the victim.
“At the time of the incident he (Lovins) was distraught. He just said she had shot herself.”