Murdered Florida Woman's Body Found Under Christmas Gifts

67-year-old Jacksonville woman found murdered under children's gifts

A woman is facing murder charges after the body of a 67-year-old family friend was found hidden beneath Christmas presents in her Jacksonville home.

Patty Michelle White, 37, was arrested in South Carolina on murder charges in the death of Michele O'Dowd, according to the Florida Times-Union.

O'Dowd's body was found Friday by her twin brother, buried under a pile of gifts for her nephews, nieces and grandchildren, with her bloody face covered with a towel.

"How can you be so sick," brother Phil Axt said, "to bury the victim with children’s gifts?"

Authorities said White had been living in South Carolina for the past few months but returned to Jacksonville to rob O'Dowd. Axt said the family had known White for around five years, and that she had dated his nephew.

White allegedly did odd jobs for the family, including running errands, and had access to O'Dowd's credit and debit cards.

Police said O'Dowd's debit card was stolen and used to with draw $1,000 at two separate ATMs, and that White was identified from surveillance photos from the ATMs.

Authorities didn't say whether White had been extradited to Jacksonville to face the murder charges.

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