Boyfriend arrested after woman found dead in backseat of car, Jacksonville police say

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — UPDATE 2/22/2019: The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office said it has arrested a man for the murder of his girlfriend after her body was found in a car on Confederate Point Road.

London Woodworth, 22, was arrested Friday and faces charges in the death of his girlfriend Andrea Leah Petrick, 34, police said.

The Sheriff's Office said the suspect confessed to a witness that he killed Petrick. According to the Sheriff's Office, Woodworth told the witness that Petrick's body was in a car in the parking lot.

ORIGINAL STORY: The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office homicide investigators are working to determine how a unidentified woman died after her body was found in the backseat of a white car at The Preserve at Cedar River apartment complex.

Police said she is believed to be 30 to 35 years old.

The scene unfolded in the parking lot of the complex on Confederate Point Road in the Confederate Point neighborhood on the Westside.

JSO tells Action News Jax Ryan Nelson JFRD pronounced the woman dead on scene.

As of this evening’s news briefing with Sgt. Steve Rudlaff of  JSO’s homicide unit around 6:20 p.m., investigators had not yet been able to identify the woman. As a result, investigators told us at the briefing they were unable to the notify next of kin.

Neighbors gathered and watched as investigators collected evidence. Sky Action News Jax flew overhead to capture aerial footage of the white car police say the woman was found in. She’s described as a white female in her early 30s.

Police could not say how the woman died at the time of the press briefing, and said it would be up to the medical examiner to make a determination.

A woman who asked only to be called ‘Aaliyah’ told Action News Jax she witnessed the scene while visiting her mother.

“I was worried about my family and just like, what’s going on, because it’s usually a quiet complex,” she said.  “There’s really not too much drama going on in the complex, so it was alarming.”

Police tell Action News Jax a 911 caller gave them a tip that led investigators to a person of interest. Officers say the man was detained and interviewed. Investigators tell us others were being interviewed as well.

While police said they had not notified the woman’s family as of this evening, Aaliyah tells us the community offers her loved ones their support.

“My condolences to just whoever’s involved, and just, prayers, it’s just an unfortunate event,” she said.

We asked JSO at the time of the briefing whether the person of interest is facing charges. We’re reaching out to JSO to determine if he was arrested, or allowed to leave after the interview with investigators.

According to JSO, they are not currently looking for any suspects in reference to this investigation.

JSO said they there is a person of interest and they currently have that person detained.

Cox Media Group