A suspect has been charged with the murder of a woman found shot to death in her car in Jacksonville, marking a breakthrough in the case that has lingered since September 2023. Anthony Gutierrez, 23, was arrested and charged with the killing of Natalie Ann Acevedo, 22, after a lengthy investigation by the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office (JSO). The arrest was made while Gutierrez was already in jail on separate weapons and drug offenses, Action News Jax reported.

The initial discovery of Acevedo's body took place on Old Middleburg Road South, where a passerby noticed a car with apparent bullet holes on the driver's side. Upon investigation, JSO officers found the young woman deceased in the vehicle, News4Jax reported.

Local community members were shaken by the tragic event, such as Bruce Arthur, a resident living across from where the crime scene was established. He recalled the disturbing regularity of violence in the area, "My wife heard gun shots about two o'clock this morning," said Arthur, who noted the rapid succession of the shots. "She said there was eight of them in rapid succession." Although he slept through the gunfire, the scene that unravelled the next morning was one of a neighborhood grappling with its security, as mentioned in an interview with First Coast News.

Arthur noted the transformation of Our Community Club Park over the years, which was once a quiet area and has since become a hub of activity that, at times, includes unlawful behavior. "I moved here in 1992 and I'd see five cars a day," said Arthur, "Now it’s a racetrack in front of my house. It’s easy access to commit a crime, or do something illegal. People don’t want to talk about it, they want to resolve it with violence," as detailed by First Coast News.