JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (Court TV) — Police say a man found beaten to death with a hammer in a Florida apartment building had a note on his chest that led them to his alleged killer.
Journee McGrew is charged with the murder of Waduta Woodley. (Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office)
Journee McGrew, 21, is charged with the second-degree murder of Waduta Woodley, 41, whose body was found behind a stairwell at a Jacksonville apartment complex with multiple blunt force injuries to his head and face. Police said a note was left on his chest, written in green highlighter, that said “PEDO Touches Children.”
When officers spoke to McGrew, who lives in the apartment outside of which Woodley was found, she spontaneously said, “Is he still alive?” McGrew then told officers that Woodley had been sexually grooming her since she was eight years old and accused him of sexually battering her multiple times.
In an arrest report reviewed by Court TV, officers said that McGrew invited Woodley over to her home, saying she was fantasizing about him and wanted to have sex. Woodley arrived at the apartment, and after the two spent some time drinking, McGrew said that he began pressuring her to have sex. McGrew eventually asked Woodley to leave.
McGrew allegedly told police that she grabbed a metal hammer and hid it behind her back as she walked Woodley to the door, and when Woodley “grabbed McGrew as if wrapping his arms around her,” she pushed him away and attacked him. A metal hammer, covered in blood, was found in McGrew’s sink. An autopsy determined that Woodley died of “multiple chop injuries.”
Police say they collected other evidence from inside McGrew’s apartment linking her to the crime, including a green highlighter and clothes covered in blood.
While investigators said McGrew initially gave them consent to search her phone after the incident, she later withdrew it, stating, “She did not want law enforcement to see the notes on her cellphone about Woodley.”
McGrew is scheduled to appear in court for her arraignment on July 24.
