NEPTUNE BEACH, Fla. – The divorce between Martin Zell's daughter and son-in-law was likely a reason for a murder-suicide Tuesday afternoon, Neptune Beach police said.
Police said the 70-year-old shot and killed Jeffrey Hess, then killed himself during a three-hour standoff Tuesday afternoon.
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In 911 calls released Wednesday, callers reported hearing five gunshots and seeing Hess lying on the sidewalk in front of his house at the corner of First and Bowles streets. Hess was flown to a hospital, where he later died.
Authorities said there are indications in the home that Hess put up a fight when Zell arrived.
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Investigators said a suicide note found in Zell's Ponte Vedra Beach home just two hours after the killing made it clear that he intended to kill his son-in-law.
"I'm not sure what's going on here, but my husband told me -- called this afternoon to tell me when I got home to check for some information, which I just did," the woman who found the note told a 911 dispatcher. "He left me a note, and I'm afraid that he's taken his own life and someone else's. What I think I'm reading is, 'I accept full responsibility for taking my own life and Jeff's life.' So, Jeff doesn't live here. He lives in Jax Beach."
Investigators said the note was apologetic but did not reveal a clear motive in the shooting. In the note, Zell said he was going to kill Hess, police said.
Zell carried a photocopy of the suicide note he left at the house, police said.
Police said that as soon as they arrived at the house just before 4 p.m., Zell killed himself, which they said leads them to believe he saw the first responding officers out a window before turning the gun on himself.
Police said Zell was a retired investor and Hess an unemployed pharmaceutical sales representative whose resume was on the counter when police arrived. Police said he had been out of work for months.
Court records showed that Hess divorced Jeanmarie Hess two years ago and was paying $6,000 a month in alimony, plus child care, police said.
"We know that there was some bad blood between them," Neptune Beach Police Chief David Sembach said. "It's not a mystery as to who did it. It's a mystery as to why it was done."