Stabbed more than 20 times.
It’s the gruesome new information coming from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office about a murder and attempted murder at the Hawthorne Suites on Baymeadows this weekend.
JSO says two women arranged to meet with Chad Hurst through Backpage.com. The women and Hurst had not met in person, and police aren’t sure how long they’d been communicating through the website before arranging the meeting.
Police say when the two women arrived at the hotel, Hurst started cutting and stabbing them- apparently unprovoked and with no clear murder.
We’re told 28-year-old Jennalee Miles was stabbed fewer than five times, but she was pronounced dead on the scene. A 27-year-old victim, whose name has not been released, was stabbed more than 20 times. The injuries were initially deemed life threatening, and JSO didn’t have any update available on the victim’s condition.
JSO says the surviving victim was instrumental, however, in identifying Hurst. Investigators believe that victim pulled the fire alarm at the hotel immediately following the attack in order to get police to the scene. JSO and JFRD responded to the alarm and were then brought to the bloody hotel room by witnesses, who reported seeing a man leaving the scene.
The surviving victim was further able to identify Hurst, according to police. He was arrested about 12 hours after the attack. We’re told the murder weapon has still not been found.