JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A 35-year-old man was sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a woman found strangled to death in a Southside apartment in November, according to the court records.
Otis Tucker pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and tampering with evidence after 23-year-old Ashley Fowler was found dead at the Auburn Glen Apartments on Southside Boulevard.
Officers were called to the apartment on November 1 after residents told them they heard loud banging and screaming coming from one of the units.
According to the court document, Tucker shared the apartment with a roommate who found the door chained shut and the home completely dark when she arrived at the unit.
When Tucker eventually let her in, she noticed he and the apartment were covered in blood. The document said the woman attempted to call 911 but Tucker took her phone and forced her out of the apartment before leaving out of the back door.
JSO said residents also reported that they saw a man in all black clothing leave through the back of the apartment shortly afterward, which initiated a search of the area.
The information and evidence gathered through the investigation led them to find Tucker as the suspect.
JSO said the home had obvious signs of struggle.
When officers found Fowler’s body, the document said there was blunt force trauma with a hammer and she was strangled with an electronic cord.
Tucker was found later that day with Fowler’s backpack and the hammer he used.
The document said after Tucker was detained, he was interviewed and told that detectives were going to collect fingernail samples. So, he poured soda into his hands.
Despite his efforts to conceal the DNA, Fowler’s DNA was found underneath his fingernails, the document said.
The relationship between the two Tucker and Fowler was not specified.
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