JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Duval County jury has found Nathaniel Slade guilty of second-degree murder, State Attorney Melissa Nelson announced. Slade, who is already serving a life sentence for unrelated charges, now faces up to life in Florida State Prison for the 2022 murder. The Honorable Jonathan Sacks will determine Slade’s sentence at a later date.
The case began on April 20, 2022, when Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office officers responded to a home on West 9th Street after the homeowner discovered a trash can buried in his backyard. The homeowner reported hearing rumors that Slade, his former tenant, had killed a woman and hidden her body there. Officers unearthed the trash can and confirmed the presence of human remains.
The victim, who had been Slade’s former supervisor, had last been seen by her son in early February. After she failed to respond to birthday messages later that month, the son began receiving suspicious texts from her phone asking for money. Investigators later learned that Slade’s girlfriend had helped him clean up the crime scene after he stabbed the victim in the chest. Autopsy results and crime scene evidence corroborated the girlfriend’s account.
Slade is already serving a life sentence for charges related to an unrelated case, including attempted first-degree murder, armed burglary, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, for which he pleaded guilty in January 2024 and was sentenced the following month.