A man taken into custody after an hours-long SWAT standoff in the Sandalwood area on Friday confessed to fatally stabbing his wife and stuffing her body in the trunk of his car, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday.
Gerard Stewart, 45, is charged with murder and tampering with evidence in the death of his wife, Julie Stewart, 42, according to our News4Jax partner.
Police said Gerard Stewart initially called police about 2 p.m. Friday to say he'd killed his wife and that her body was in the trunk of the car. When police arrived at Stewart's home on Cavalry Boulevard, Stewart was backing the car out of the garage, Lt. Craig Waldrup said at a news conference Tuesday.
Stewart then ran into the home, threatening to harm himself and officers. The SWAT team was called in, and some time during a three-hour standoff, Stewart took a large number of pills in an unsuccessful attempt to take his own life, police said.
Gerard Stewart was taken into custody, Baker Acted and taken to a hospital. Julie Stewart's body was found in the trunk of the car.
Waldrup said that during the standoff and again in an interview with homicide detectives, Stewart confessed to fatally stabbing his wife and stuffing her body in the trunk. He confessed again days later.
"After being released from the hospital, he was brought to the homicide office and interviewed by detectives, where he confessed to murdering his wife," Waldrup said.
He said the two had been having domestic issues. Waldrup said officers had never been called to the home before Friday.
News4Jax reported that Julie Stewart filed for divorce in April. According to a petition for dissolution of marriage, the couple had been married for 20 years. Her divorce attorney said Julie Stewart was a stay-at-home mother of their 9-year-old son.
The boy was not in the home during the standoff and is staying with grandparents.
