JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – One day after a 61-year-old woman was found dead in her Westside home, her husband was charged with murder.
Neighbors called police Friday morning, concerned that Lou Ellen Martin had not been seen for several days. Officers found the woman deceased inside the home on Urban Street, just off Roosevelt Boulevard, according to the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office.
That afternoon, News4Jax learned her husband, Billy Ray Martin, was arrested Thursday on charges of battery, assault and reckless driving. He was placed in a mental health facility for psychiatric evaluation.
According to the JSO jail website, Martin was rebooked Saturday afternoon on a charge of murder. He is being held without bail. No other details about the homicide were provided over the weekend.
"He introduced himself to us, maybe the second or third day we were living here. We spoke one time. I literally never saw him again after that," neighbor Teresa Rothaar told News4Jax on Friday..