JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 30-year-old man is facing three second-degree murder charges in a deadly stabbing attack Thursday that left two men and one woman dead on Jacksonville’s Westside, police said.
Police said Austin Fisher fatally stabbed 49-year-old Edwin Barber, 27-year-old Savannah Barber and 37-year-old Shad Cole at a home on Exodus Way.
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They initially called the stabbings a domestic violence incident, but they have not said if or how Fisher is related to the three victims.
Fisher made his first appearance in court on Friday morning on the charges, which also included one count of armed robbery. He was ordered to be held without bond and will be back in court on June 18.
According to the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office, around 3 a.m. Thursday, dispatchers received a call that a man was knocking on the front door of a home on Exodus Way.
When the District 5 Patrol officers arrived, they found Edwin Barber on the front porch with a stab wound to his chest.
Investigators quickly learned Barber had been stabbed at his home down the street and had run to his neighbor’s house for help.
When officers went to Barber’s house, they found Savannah Barber inside a bedroom with multiple stab wounds, and then found Cole with multiple stab wounds on the porch of another house.
Savannah Barber and Cole died before they could receive medical attention. Edwin Barber died at the hospital, police said.
JSO said investigators learned from community tips that Fisher was the likely suspect and found him hiding at a motel in the Normandy Village area.
The SWAT Team went to the motel to take Fisher into custody, but he refused to exit. After several hours in a standoff, JSO said, they took Fisher into custody.
A neighbor at the scene of the triple murder captured video that shows blood smeared on a porch, door, and doorbell.
“I’m in a lot of shock, to be honest. My mind is blank,” Misty Garcia said. “I feel so much guilt for not being able to open the door for that person. I have medical training; I could’ve done something.”
A neighbor who asked not to be identified told News4JAX reporter Briana Brownlee the deadly incident has him on edge.
“It’s sad because my wife comes in and out. I don’t drive anymore, but I’m to the point now -- I just told her this morning when she leaves here and then she’s coming back that night, I want to know what time she’s coming in where I can be standing at the door with my gun,” he said. “I want to protect her. I don’t want nobody to hurt her.”
Anyone with information about the stabbing is asked to call JSO at 904-630-0500 or CrimeStoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.
Resources
If you or someone you know is or has been a victim of domestic violence or abuse, here’s a list of resources available:
- Hubbard House Hotline (904) 354-3114 or Textline (904) 210-3698
- The Florida Domestic Violence Hotline, which will direct you to the nearest shelter, is 1-800-500-1119.
- The National Domestic Violence Hotline is open 24 hours a day. The number is 1-800-799-SAFE.
- The Micah’s Place (Nassau County) Domestic Violence Help Hotline is 904-225-9979.
- The Quigley House (Clay County) hotline is 904-284-0061. https://www.quigleyhouse.org/.
- The Betty Griffin Center (St. Johns County) can be reached at 904-824-1555.