NEPTUNE BEACH, Fla. – The medical examiner is working to determine a cause of death after a man, a woman and their dog were found dead Saturday afternoon in their Neptune Beach home.
According to an incident report from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, a woman went to the home on North Street, entered through the garage, and found her father’s partner, a 77-year-old woman, lying on the ground inside the home.
The woman told investigators it was clear she was dead, so she quickly left the home and called police.
When officers arrived, they found the woman’s father, also 77, and the couple’s dog dead inside the home
Authorities say preliminary findings suggest the deaths may have been accidental, but the exact cause remains unknown. The times of death are also unknown.
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The medical examiner is investigating, along with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office.
News4JAX crime and safety expert Tom Hackney said until the ME’s findings are released, how they died is a mystery, but with no foul play suspected, he’s leaning toward one of three causes: Medication-related, a fall or possibly something connected to a car in the garage.
“Nowadays we have cars that are very quiet, run so quietly. My car runs so quietly (that) there are times when I thought it was on and it was off, or times when I thought it was off and it was on,” Hackney said.
Hackney said the fact that both people died along with a dog makes this something detectives were likely able to put together quickly, but we still don’t have official word from investigators.
“That would certainly explain away the fact that the dog perished, and that both of them have passed away without major foul play,” Hackney said.
The presence of investigators shocked residents in what they describe as a typically quiet neighborhood.
“Crime scene tape, photographers and detectives, investigators. It was intense,” said Stephen Dickerson, who witnessed the investigation unfold. “From what I know about Neptune Beach, it’s unusual.”