Son left behind note at home where father was killed

Victim's son, wife found dead in Daytona Beach hotel room after manhunt

ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. – As the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office continues to investigate the murder of a 70-year-old father, two notes were found that were left behind by his son, authorities said.

Joseph Reddock Sr. died of blunt force trauma, and his body was found last Wednesday inside his Palm Valley home, the Sheriff's Office said.

Investigators said they believe his Joseph Reddock Jr. killed his father before he and his wife committed suicide in a Daytona Beach hotel. 

Two letters were left behind by the son, one at his father's house and one in Daytona Beach, investigators said. 

Daytona Beach police told News4Jax that they did not want to talk about the letter they found. The Sheriff's Office also said they couldn't  divulge what was in the letters due to the investigation, but it said the letter found at the home was more of a confession, and the note in Daytona Beach was a suicide note. 

Deputies have also been searching ponds in the subdivision where the elder Reddock lived. 

A dive team was out Tuesday, and the Sheriff's Office confirmed Wednesday that K-9s initially searched the area, and there were spots to where they were drawn, so they will continue to look at those areas.

"During the day of the crime scene processing, we brought in some K-9 units that are trained on article searches. During the course of that, dogs had indicated a certain direction in certain areas, and so we wanted to explore that a little more," said SJCSO Public Information Officer Cpt. Chuck Mulligan. 

Mulligan said the team was not looking for any specific evidence. He said detectives were practicing due diligence to see if Joseph Reddock Jr., who deputies believe killed Joseph Reddock Sr., disposed of any evidence in the ponds.

“Obviously, there was some cleanup that was attempted at the residence and potential he, someone had brought a device in, a rug, in order to remove the individual from the residence and scrub the scene. That did not occur," Mulligan said.

Investigators said they are looking into whether someone interrupted them. They're also reading through a note left behind at the crime scene.

In the warrant affidavit, investigators said they spoke with Reddock Jr.'s ex-girlfriend, Pamela Westberry, who told them the day of the murder, he dropped his dog off at her house after telling her that his father hurt his current girlfriend, Samantha. He then said, "I'm not going to let him hurt anyone else," according to the affidavit.

Later in the affidavit, it said Reddock Jr. talked about walking in on his father attempting to rape his wife, and the note goes on to address his sister, Julie, and stated, "Please forgive me, but this was an extremely sick man."

“What I can simply tell you is that we will continue to look at that to see if there was any indications that that is truthful. We just simply don't know at this time, and of course, we can interview some of the individuals involved in this case to determine what was factual or if that was just a statement made after the crime was committed," Mulligan said.

The letters won't be released until the case is closed, the Sheriff's Office confirmed Wednesday. 

News4Jax asked Mulligan is it was odd that he left a confession letter. He said while it is normal, they have come to expect the abnormal from people when it comes to crimes, and he said it helps with the investigation.