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 resident has been arrested following a tragic incident rooted in jealousy, leaving two people dead, according to local authorities and family members.
Christian Barrios, aged 32, faces multiple charges including two counts of first-degree murder, burglary of an occupied dwelling, illegal possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, shooting into a vehicle, and grand theft of a motor vehicle, as reported by the St. Johns County Sheriff’s Office.
The victims, Melissa Wood, 46, and Jason Chatham, 42, both hailed from Atlantic Beach, a quaint city situated east of Jacksonville.
The fatal shooting unfolded on the evening of March 13 at a Walgreens located along the A1A Scenic & Historic Coastal Byway in Ponte Vedra Beach, a prominent suburb of Jacksonville.
Responding to several 911 calls reporting gunfire around 10:30 p.m., deputies arrived at the pharmacy on Palm Valley Road, detailed 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.”
