Inset left: Christian Barrios (St. Johns County Sheriff's Office). Inset right: Melissa Wood (GoFundMe). Background: The Walgreens where Barrios allegedly killed Wood and her new boyfriend in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. (Google Maps).
A Florida man is behind bars and two people are dead due to jealous rage, law enforcement and family in the Sunshine State say.
Christian Barrios, 32, stands accused of two counts of murder in the first degree, burglary of an occupied dwelling, possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, shooting into a conveyance, and grand theft of a motor vehicle, according to the St. Johns County Sheriff's Office.
The shooting took the life of 46-year-old Melissa Wood and 42-year-old Jason Chatham, who both lived in Atlantic Beach, a small city located a few miles due east of Jacksonville.
The underlying incident occurred on the night of March 13 at a Walgreens on the A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway in Ponte Vedra Beach, a large unincorporated suburb of Jacksonville.
Around 10:30 p.m., deputies responded to multiple 911 calls about shots fired at the pharmacy on the corner of Palm Valley Road, according to St. Johns County Sheriff Rob Hardwick.
Both victims were transported to nearby hospitals where they died, the sheriff said during a press conference, Jacksonville-based independent TV station WJXT reported.
The defendant was quickly identified and tracked by K-9 units onto a golf course in the area which is owned by the PGA Tour.
Barrios was arrested the next day in Nassau County after stealing a BMW, crashing the car, and fleeing from a local deputy on foot into the woods, according to the sheriff's office, WJXT reported.
The sheriff described the defendant as a known criminal.
"He is out of prison again on probation, committing another violent felony," Hardwick said. "Here we are dumping all these resources and families are gonna mourn two people that were shot and killed in a parking lot of Walgreens over a domestic violence situation."
The shooting is believed to be the result of romantic envy. Investigators believe Barrios targeted Wood over perceived infidelity.
The alleged assailant got a ride from his mother, asking her to take him to the location where he believed his girlfriend would be found with another man, according to an arrest warrant obtained by WJXT.
The defendant's mother told deputies that her son rode in the back of her car and "frantically jumped out" when he saw Wood's car, according to the charging document. Then, the mother recalled hearing a flurry of gunfire, so she called 911.
The victim's family said any relationship between the alleged killer and Wood was over and done with by the time of the shooting.
"[M]y amazing and one and only sister, Melissa, was gunned down and shot to death by an insecure, jealous ex-boyfriend," the victim's brother, Jeremy Hackward, wrote on a GoFundMe.
The online fundraiser is soliciting donations for funeral arrangements, the deceased woman's outstanding bills, and other unexpected "financial obligations" arising from the fatal violence.
Wood was remembered fondly by her brother.
"She left behind two kids, had just become a grandma barely a year ago, and leaves our mother and me grieving her loss," the GoFundMe continues. "Melissa was such an amazing, outgoing, generous, and compassionate person. She never judged anyone and would help a stranger even if she wasn't in a place to do so herself. She'd do just about anything to help you out—that's the kind of person she was."
Wood's daughter disputed the notion her mother had been unfaithful in comments to Jacksonville-based radio station WOKV.
Rather, she said, she believed her mother was trying to help Barrios with something, while acknowledging she did not know the full extent of the relationship between the two.
"She had a lot of love to give," the slain woman's daughter said. "And she always knew what to do and what to say, even when she didn't know. And she had two beautiful kids, and she did a really good job raising us. And the one thing I want to carry out is, I just had a baby, he just turned one, and I would love to raise him the way my mom raised me."
Chatham was lovingly remembered by his niece, Aliya Jade, in a social media post, WJXT reported.
"I wish we could share another late night adventure walking the streets of Jax Beach with no clue in the world where we are going or what we are doing," Jade wrote. "I love you forever, and I hope you're dancing in the sky having the best family reunion there is. I will make sure your light never goes dull here on earth while you're giving heaven the best party ever. One that I wish I had a ticket to."
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