JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The young woman found dead near the Trout River Friday night has been identified by her family.
The family of Santeria Williams, 18, is mourning her death. They say she was an inspiring woman that had a bright future.
"It's a pain that hurts so deep because she was so small, and for someone to do that to her... it hurts so bad, you can't even explain," says Debra Carr. Williams' grandmother.
Carr says Williams was a senior at Jean Ribault High School and was getting ready to take her senior class photos. An opportunity that Carr says was stolen from her.
She says her granddaughter got a call from someone around midnight on Wednesday. Williams went to the door, stepped out and never came back
"Ask questions about where your child [sic] at, like where you going," she cautions.
The Jacksonville Sheriff's Office says around 3:18 p.m., a person called 911 to report what they believed to be a body discovered near the edge of a waterway in the 8000 block of Vermillion Street.
Patrol officers from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and crews from JFRD responded to the scene and located a body near the edge of the waterway.
The individual was pronounced dead at the scene. The body discovered was identified as a woman in her late teens or early 20s, police say.
She was later identified by her grandmother as Williams.
Police do suspect foul play but have not released any other details at this time.
If anyone has information about this incident, please contact the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office at 630-0500 or Crime Stoppers at 1-866-845-TIPS.
