INVERNESS, FL (352today.com) – The Citrus County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO) has released new information regarding what they called a “gruesome discovery” on Thanksgiving Day.
On Thursday, Nov. 23, deputies responded to an “urgent well-being check” at a home in the area of Poe Street and Eden Drive in Inverness after receiving information that a murder had potentially taken place. There they say they discovered a man dead in the trunk of a car and another man suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Case of Murder-Suicide
On Saturday, Nov. 25, CCSO posted to Facebook providing more details. They say when units arrived on the scene, they knocked on the front door. When no one answered, they began checking the property.
In the backyard, they say patrol units found “a large butcher style knife on the ground, blood, and drag marks.”
Deputies entered the house and say they found 75-year-old Jonathan Dimick Sr. sitting in his living room with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his abdomen. They say he was unresponsive, but alive. CCSO says EMTs from Citrus County Fire Rescue provided emergency medical treatment to Dimick on scene before transferring him to a helicopter for emergency transport. They say he died at the hospital.
As deputies continued to search the property, CCSO says they made the “gruesome discovery” of the dismembered body of 67-year-old James Banks in the trunk of his own vehicle.
“The scene our deputies responded to was absolutely shocking. It is rare that a case this horrific occurs in Citrus County, but this is what we prepare for,” said Sheriff Mike Prendergast. “It is truly unfortunate that our suspect (Dimick) will never be prosecuted for this brutal crime.”
It’s unclear at this time, the relationship between Dimick and Banks or a motive for the killing. 352today has posed those questions to the sheriff’s office. We are awaiting a response.
Sheriff Prendergast acknowledged the courage of caller who alerted CCSO to the crime and concluded the release saying, “Mr. Banks’ family can begin their grieving process with the knowledge that no one will ever again suffer by the hands of Mr. Dimick.”
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