99 Homicides in 2020, only a fraction solved

Jacksonville, Fla. — The family of Jacob Kellner is frustrated with the lack of investigators in his 2017 murder.  

Kellner was 28 when he was killed and left behind a young daughter.

He was found by a jogger in a westside cemetery, police do not know if he was killed there or placed there.

“It’s very disheartening to know the person who did this is still out there .” Kellner’s older brother Michael Thurston talked about his case via zoom Tuesday.

Kellner’s case is just one unsolved murder in Jacksonville.  

The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office has worked 99 homicides so far this year, according to the Sheriff’s Office transparency page.  

Of those, only 21 have resulted in arrests, meaning about 80 percent of cases remain open.

in 2018, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement ranked Duval County the second worst when it comes to solving crimes. 

While detectives work cases daily, some local families of murder victims are losing hope. 

“We want to know that someone is working on this,” Thurston said.

Cox Media Group