Dead man found in someone’s private pool is tied to 2019 sex crime, Florida cops say

An unresolved 2019 sex crime came to a surprise conclusion in December when DNA from the attack was linked to a man found dead in someone’s swimming pool, according to the Nassau County Sheriff’s Office in North Florida.

The body was discovered three years after the sexual battery was first reported, officials said in a news release.

How the 37-year-old Jacksonville man ended up in the pool remains a mystery.

“In June 29, 2022, NCSO received a call of a person, deceased at the bottom of a pool on Franklin Rd in Hilliard,” the sheriff’s office said.

“The evidence on scene suggested that an individual attempted to make entry to the house due to bloody hand prints on the rear glass door.”

Franklin Road is an unpaved road that comes to a dead end, located in a largely rural area of Nassau County. Hilliard is about 30 miles northwest of Jacksonville.

Once the body was positively identified, a detective submitted a blood sample from the door for DNA testing. That test revealed the DNA matched a sample found at the scene of a June 2019 sexual battery in the county, officials said.

A suspect had never been identified in that case.

“The victim was contacted and advised that the suspect ... is now deceased and that the DNA returned matched the DNA recovered from the 2019 sexual battery,” officials said.

This story was originally published December 28, 2022 at 4:48 AM with the headline "Dead man found in someone’s private pool is tied to 2019 sex crime, Florida cops say."