JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — The man accused of killing three people on Jacksonville’s Westside has pleaded guilty to his crimes.
Austin Fisher was in court on Wednesday, where he pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree murder and one count of armed robbery.
The crimes were committed just before 4 a.m. on May 28 at a home on Exodus Way. When the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office arrived, officers found one victim dead on the front porch. A second victim was found dead inside the home. A third victim was found bleeding on the front porch of a neighbor’s home. He died a short time later at the hospital. Each victim had been stabbed multiple times.
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The victims were identified as Edwin and Savannah Barber and Shad Cole.
After the stabbings, Fisher took off in a rideshare and told the driver exactly what he had done. Another witness told investigators that Fisher called him, admitted to the stabbings, and was going to his mother’s house to turn himself in. A third witness told law enforcement Fisher arrived at her hotel room and admitted he stole money and drugs from the victims after he stabbed them.
Fisher was arrested at the hotel and again admitted to stabbing each of the three victims.
Per the terms of a negotiated plea, Fisher was given four life sentences in Florida State Prison without the possibility of parole.
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Shad Cole’s family released the following statement to Action News Jax:
“On behalf of the family of Shad Cole, as his cousin and right hand, I wanted to be sure I was front row in court today- first and foremost, thank you to the public, our friends, and our family members for supporting me in our most time of need. It has been a tough few weeks and today was a huge win for us all. I arrived to court this morning to support those who were lost, only expecting a quick arraignment, but events escalated quickly. As we waited for Austin to approach, his defense team and the prosecutors had many conversations back-and-forth throughout the morning. Once it was Austin’s turn, the victims advocate and the prosecutors updated us to let us know that Austin had decided to plead guilty on all counts, which were currently at second-degree with a weapon and armed robbery. The prosecutor had every intention to indict him on Thursday, seeking the death penalty, and once Austin and his team was aware of what was to come, his defense attorney advised him to plea out. After many offers back-and-forth between Austin‘s defense team and the prosecutor, everyone agreed that life without the possibility of parole was what everybody agreed on. I sat in the courtroom, held myself together and listened as the judge confirmed multiple times with Austin that this was for sure what he wanted. All Austin said was “yes ma’am” for every question she asked and had no other statement to make. I was asked to make a statement, but being caught off guard, I had nothing to say. From what I saw, Austin had no remorse. Had nothing to say to the victim’s families, just simply stood there accepting his fate. He looked so thin and soulless. He knew this was the end of the road.
“I appreciate the media allowing us to keep our privacy and allowing us to grieve off camera, so I wanted to provide them statement since I was there front row to watch all the events unfold. Today was a good day & I thank God for making this a quick process and this is all over. RIP Cuzzo, I love you. I got you from here! Thank you. ”
“Let me know please also i forgot to thank Detectives Sosa , Stephen and the other detectives The prosecutor Doug he’s young and wasn’t taking nothing or backing down from a fight at end of the day they Made the lawyer and Austin Fisher fold and broke down quick fast , they said they have never seen anything like this case thats the fastest ever , and why most cases wait and take time for closure we got closure in less than 26 days which it doesn’t bring anyone back from the dead it does feel good to know he will never harm or hurt anyone else. Thank you again.”
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