Joshua Nareau eulogized his murdered grandfather after he was shot and killed in front of his home in Port Charlotte, Florida, on December 28. But on Thursday, the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office arrested Nareau, 23, and charged him with James Khoury’s murder.
The 71-year-old Khoury’s wife, Lynda Khoury, called 911 just after 5 a.m. that day to say that her husband had been shot. Deputies arrived and found him with a gunshot wound to the chest, his own gun holstered at his hip, and his lunchbox next to him. He was pronounced dead.
The deputies found Nareau sitting in the yard by the house, Law&Crime reported. According to a probable cause affidavit seen by Law&Crime, he told them his grandmother had called him and he rushed over from his own house nearby. Linda Khoury confirmed that she’d called her grandson.
Nareau speaks at Jim Khoury’s memorial service:
She said her husband was leaving for work, and she gave him a kiss as he walked out the door. Seconds later, she told deputies, she heard a gunshot and heard James Khoury call out to her. She found him with a gunshot to the chest and “knew he was dead.” She ran back inside and called 911, then Nareau, who told deputies he’d been in bed asleep when she called.
Investigators checked Nareau’s phone records and found that his grandmother had called him after the shooting. But the phone data also indicated he had walked several hundred yards around the time of the shooting — roughly the distance to his grandparents’ home and back, according to the affidavit.
Deputies also found a projectile in a tree on the property, and last week, lab results confirmed that the bullet was fired from a rifle owned by Nareau.
“I am glad to finally be able to bring an update to you on this terrible incident. As you can see, even though we were not able to share much with you, my detectives and forensics team did a great job and we had a direction for the investigation and ultimately got the person responsible,” Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell said in a statement. “This does not make it any easier for the family of the victim, who now have even more grief to cope with, but I hope it brings peace of mind to the community once more. Please pray for Mr. Khoury’s family as they navigate this unthinkable situation.”
Police did not provide a motive for the murder.
At the funeral, Nareau said that Khoury was a father to him.
“He made me the person I am today,” he said. “You are all here because you knew and loved my grandfather and I thank you so much for that. My goal in life is to be as good as this man was. He helped everyone in this room in some way and I know that.”
Nareau is being held in the Charlotte County Jail on a charge of second-degree murder without bond and is due in court on Wednesday.
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[Featured image: Joshua Nareau/Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office]
