Left inset: Olson Jean. Right inset: Wendy Moncion (St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office). Background: The semi-truck where Olson Jean allegedly stashed the body of his cousin, Wendy Moncion, after shooting him in the head (WPEC/YouTube).
A Florida truck driver who was found "behaving erratically" in the middle of a road — with witnesses saying he was lying on the ground and rolling around — turned out to be a murderer, according to police. Cops say the trucker killed his cousin and stuffed the man's body in a compartment underneath his truck's "sleeper" area in the back.
"He basically just stated he was taking a breather," St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro explained to reporters at a press conference Tuesday about Olson Jean, 41, who is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Wendy Moncion, 32.
An unoccupied 2020 Freightliner semi-truck was found in the area while cops were speaking to Jean, and he was questioned about whether he was associated with it.
"He lied initially about owning the truck," Del Toro said. "We later determined the truck came back to an LLC, contacted the LLC, the owner of that business. He leases that truck to [Jean]. So, that was a bold-faced lie, the fact that he had nothing to do with the truck."
While speaking to officers, Jean allegedly stated, "I drive a waste management tractor," and started to walk away from authorities. "When asked where he was coming from, he claimed he was just jogging around, gesturing north in a circular motion," Del Toro explained. "And when asked where he lived, he pointed behind himself and said, 'On the other side.'"
Cops took a closer look at the semi-truck and observed blood on the exterior, according to Del Toro. A search warrant was executed to get inside and more evidence of a crime was found, the sheriff said.
"Blood all over," Del Toro told reporters.
Deputies canvassed the area and recovered a Palmetto State Armory PA-15 rifle, a Springfield Hellcat handgun, and handgun magazines matching the Springfield handgun. The firearms and magazines were located near a canal and appeared to have been "intentionally placed there," according to Del Toro.
Inside the truck, cops found a body that was later identified as Moncion, of Coconut Creek. He was confirmed to be Jean's cousin by family.
"Inside a storage compartment, beneath the sleeper — the bed area in the back — deputies located [Moncion]," Del Toro said. "The medical examiner conducted an autopsy [and] determined the cause of death to be a single gunshot wound to the back of the head."
Jean was taken into custody and police began probing the discovery as a homicide.
According to Del Toro, individuals related to Jean and Moncion told investigators that the two of them were riding together from Georgia to Florida. Jean allegedly expressed "safety concerns to family members about sleeping in his truck" during stops along the route to Florida, and Moncion was keeping him company.
"[Jean] was afraid, basically," Del Toro explained. "According to the wife, [Jean] has been kind of paranoid lately. Acting kind of erratically. She expressed the fact that … they were going to maybe get some mental health treatment for him. So, we believe Mr. Moncion, his cousin, traveled to Georgia with the intent of accompanying him back here [to Florida], to just basically keep him company. And for whatever reason, he decided to kill our victim."
Moncion's last contact with family was on Jan. 15, according to Del Toro and Moncion's relatives.
Jean was arrested and booked in the St. Lucie County Jail, where he is currently being held without bond. Police are still investigating what caused him to allegedly kill Moncion.
"It's still under investigation," Del Toro concluded.
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