Duval County Jury Finds Burns Guilty of Murder-for-Hire of his Wife
Lumpkin Sentenced to 40 Years for Home Invasion, Manslaughter
Published on: May 23, 2024
Fourth Judicial Circuit of Florida
www.sao4th.com
Melissa W Nelson
State Attorney
311 West Monroe Street
Jacksonville, Florida 32202-4242
(904) 255-2500
State Attorney Melissa Nelson announces that the Honorable Steven Whittington sentenced Aubrey Lumpkin to 40 years in Florida State Prison for Manslaughter; Home Invasion Robbery; Armed Kidnapping; Possession of a Firearm by a Convicted Felon; and Tampering with Evidence. Lumpkin previously pleaded guilty April 1, 2024, before trial.
On April 11, 2022, Lumpkin called 911 and said he was turning himself in and provided his address. He admitted to the operator he had done terrible things and that an elderly couple needed medical assistance. Deputies with the Clay County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the provided address and found two victims bound by duct tape on their arms, legs, and faces. While being arrested, Lumpkin told officers he murdered someone. After the detectives read Lumpkin his Miranda Rights, he informed them he buried his girlfriend’s body in the backyard. The two elderly people he held hostage were her parents.
During the investigation, officers determined Lumpkin got into an argument with his girlfriend two years prior. Lumpkin told officers he hit his girlfriend multiple times until she fell to the floor and was not breathing. He then dragged her body into the woods behind her parents’ home and buried her. He then, for the next two years, took on the victim’s identity using texts and social media to extract money from her parents. The victim’s body was recovered from the backyard.
The case was investigated by the Clay County Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Assistant State Attorney Ashley Terry.