In the pre-dawn stillness of a Westside neighborhood, a dispute turned deadly. Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office deputies were called to Manotak Avenue around 3:30 a.m. on a recent Wednesday. There, they discovered a 41-year-old man, Waduta Woodley, with grave blunt force injuries. Despite the efforts of the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department, Woodley’s injuries proved fatal.
The JSO Homicide and Crime Scene Unit detectives quickly took to thoroughly investigate, collaborating with the State Attorney’s Office. Their efforts led to the apprehension of 21-year-old Journee McGrew later that same day. Charged with Second Degree Murder and Tampering with Evidence, McGrew is now held at the John E. Goode Pretrial Detention Facility. The JSO release provides a cold recital of these facts.
The incident shakes the fabric of a community not unfamiliar with the specter of domestic violence. But behind the crime scene tape and the flashing lights of emergency vehicles lies a tapestry of human lives, now forever altered. As investigators continue to piece together the sequence of events that led to this tragedy, the Westside neighborhood is left to grapple with the aftermath…