Kreighbaum Found Guilty of Second-Degree Murder

State Attorney Melissa Nelson announces that a Duval County jury found Christopher Kreighbaum guilty of Second-Degree Murder. With the verdict, Kreighbaum faces up to life in Florida State Prison. The Honorable Meredith Charbula will sentence Kreighbaum at a later date.

On Feb. 20, 2021, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office responded to a transient camp along Hodges Boulevard to assist the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department with a person who was injured. When JFRD first responded, they found a man outside of a tent dead with injuries to his head, abdomen, and arm. Kreighbaum told officers the victim had been in a dispute with an older man and he brought him to his tent to tend to his injuries. The only place where blood was found was in Kreighbaum’s tent. Crime scene detectives also noted that the blood pattern inside Kreighbaum’s tent was not consistent with someone merely bleeding, as there was blood spatter throughout the tent. Two knives — one with blood and the victim’s on it — were found inside the tent that appeared to be damaged from a sharp object.

While detained for questioning, detectives noticed blood on Kreighbaum’s hands and sides, but none on his back — refuting his story that he carried the victim on his back to assist with injuries. When confronted with inconsistencies in his story, Kreighbaum declined to speak further with police.

The case was investigated by the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by Theresa Simak and Christina Stifler.