JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Police in Jacksonville have arrested a man and his girlfriend in the death of another man whose body was found floating in the Trout River earlier this month.
Victor Gavillan-Martinez, 37, is charged with murder, and Erica Roach, 28, is charged with accessory after the fact in the death of 27-year-old Jerome Faulk Jr.
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Faulk's body was found floating in the river Nov. 4 with a cinder block tied to him and trauma to his head, according to a police report.
Police said Faulk (pictured below) had been living with the suspects on the Westside for about two weeks. They said he left in late October and they hadn't seen or heard from him.
According to the police report, a witness told investigators Monday that Gavillan-Martinez killed Faulk inside their mobile home and burned a mattress behind the home. The suspects had moved out of the home and were staying in motels.
Police searched the mobile home and found blood in the bedroom and hallway, along with a burned area in the backyard consistent with the witness' statement.
Roach told police Gavillan-Martinez told her he was going to confront Faulk about a text message he sent to Roach asking her to perform oral sex on him, according to the report. Roach said she was awakened by Gavillan-Martinez, who was standing over her covered in blood, according to the report. Police said Faulk died of blunt force trauma to the head.
Roach said Faulk was dead on the bedroom floor, and she and Gavillan-Martinez loaded his body into the trunk of a car, drove to the river, and threw his body in the water, according to the report.
Roach said Gavillan-Martinez cleaned the blood-soaked carpet and burned the mattress because it had blood on it, according to the report.