John Stoner, 41, was killed on March 5, 2008, in a brutal double homicide in Jacksonville, Florida. John lived in an apartment in the Turtle Creek area with his daughter and a roommate, Leonard Davis, who was 69 years old. On the day of the incident, John's daughter returned home from school to find both John and Leonard beaten and shot to death in their home. The apartment had been ransacked, and a gun and money were missing from the scene.
Authorities believe the crime might have been drug-related, as both John and Leonard were known to have sold marijuana from the apartment, which made them vulnerable to criminal elements in the area.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office initially struggled to make significant progress on the case, and it remained unsolved for many years. In 2018, ten years after the crime, the cold case was reopened by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office Cold Case Unit. Investigators revisited potential suspects, including individuals who may have been minors at the time of the murders. It was not uncommon for young people to frequent the apartment, which led authorities to consider multiple suspects who could have been involved in the killings. The new investigation also aimed to leverage updated forensic technology to identify any leads that might have been missed previously.
John's sister, Siobhan, who lived in Pennsylvania at the time, moved to Jacksonville after the tragedy in hopes of finding justice for her brother. She described the devastation caused by the loss of John, who was known for his kind personality and his willingness to help others. The community remains hopeful that the increased attention on the case and advancements in forensic techniques will eventually bring closure and justice for John Stoner's family. Authorities continue to ask the public for any information that could assist in solving the crime, and Crime Stoppers offers a reward for leads that could lead to an arrest.
