JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — New details have been revealed in a fatal stabbing that took place at a home in Jacksonville's Oakleaf area Thursday afternoon.
The victims in the stabbing have been identified as Paterno Zante, 80, Mildred Zante, 73, and Jocelyn Paquel, 74, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office incident report states. The suspect in this incident is identified as Joven Zante, 39, the son of Paterno and Mildred, according to the report.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office says at 1:30 p.m. Thursday, an officer was called to the home located at 10900 Stapleton Dr., and when they arrived, the incident report states that a witness (a neighbor) and Paquel was waving towards the front door of the home, telling them that Joven was stabbing people inside.
Timothy Lyons, 53, is listed in the report as the witness/neighbor. He told police Paquel was banging at his door and when he opened it, he saw her covered in blood and screaming, "he's stabbing them."
When the officer went inside the home, Mildred directed them towards Paterno who was lying on the kitchen floor with "multiple stab wounds," the report states.
"I discovered Joven lying on the floor face down with his head facing east in a pool of blood unresponsive," the report states. "I turned my attention to Paterno and observed a knife wound on the left side of his chest."
The report says three other officers then arrived at the home, as Joven was placed in three handcuffs due to "the size of Joven." He was pronounced dead by first responders with the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department at 1:39 p.m., according to the report.
Afterward, JSO says a safety sweep was conducted on the second floor of the home, which revealed Mildred was also suffering from stab wounds.
Police say Paterno was stabbed in the chest, while Mildred was "cut across her throat." They both were rushed to the Orange Park Medical Center for "serious" injuries, JSO said in the report; Paquel was taken to UF Health Shands Hospital after suffering a deep cut from her neck to her collarbone.
Orange Park Medical Center told First Coast News on Friday that Paterno has been discharged from the hospital.
First Coast News spoke with another neighbor who lives next door to the home where the stabbing happened.
The neighbor said she was not home when the incident happened, but came home to find blood on her doorbell camera.
She said she heard from another neighbor about what happened and that the parents are "sweet."
"I was devastated," the neighbor said. "I mean, they're such great neighbors and never suspected anything like this at all."
On Friday, neighbors brough flowers to the couple's door. The first person to do so said she didn't know the couple but lived nearby and wanted to be supportive.
“I can’t imagine having to go thought with that to come back to the house that it happened at," said Alli Pappas, who spoke with First Coast News Friday. "It makes me more sad more than like a worry or anything. It’s more like how do you overcome that and come back from that?”
First Coast News Crime and Safety Expert Ken Jefferson said there’s still work for investigators to do.
“It’s not necessarily an open and shut case because they always look for everything," Jefferson said. "If there’s something that’s not obviously there, they look anyway.”
With what happens next, people in the neighborhood said they hope to stand by the couple’s side.
“I really am praying for the family that this happened to," said Pappas. "I really hope everything goes good for them, recovery, not just physical but the mental recovery that’s gonna have to take place for them to feel comfortable and kind of in a better place after everything that happened.”
If you or someone you know is having a mental health crisis and needs help right away, you can reach the suicide prevention lifeline 24/7 by calling or texting 988. Kids and teens can call the Wolfson Children's Hospital free mental health hotline at any time at 904-202-7900, or text the word "Life" to 741-741 and a counselor will text you back.