TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) - Two people have been arrested in connection with a double homicide near a scenic Florida Panhandle trail.
According to an arrest affidavit, Tallahassee Police got a tip about a recorded phone call in which Joseph Oakes told his ex-wife that he had killed a man and a woman with a hammer. Police say Oakes also emailed his ex-wife photos of the dead and dismembered bodies.
The bodies were recovered Monday under a pile of trash near the St. Marks Trail. Police have not identified the victims.
Oakes was held Tuesday at the Leon County jail on two counts of murder. His girlfriend, Jennifer Ellis, was being held on $50,000 bond on two counts of being an accessory after the fact for allegedly helping Oakes clean up blood at the crime scene. Jail records did not show whether either had an attorney.
The Tallahassee Democrat reports (https://on.tdo.com/1ooANwP ) that according to court documents, Oakes had been staying in a tent in the woods with his girlfriend and the two victims.
Oakes left the tent to make a phone call and returned to find Ellis crying. Ellis said the male victim had touched her, and Oakes became angry and attacked both victims, court documents said.
Oakes woke up the next day covered in blood, and Ellis helped him drag the bodies from the tent, cover them with trash and clean off the hammer and machete Oakes had used, court documents said.
Police said that Oakes had blood on his shirt, pants and shoes when he was arrested.
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Information from: Tallahassee (Fla.) Democrat, https://www.tdo.com
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