JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Action News Jax is learning more about the circumstances surrounding the homicide of Autumn Van Camp, who was found dead due to strangulation in the home of Jason Guthrie in 2017.
Guthrie is now accused of killing his coworker on the first day working a temp job at the Anheuser-Busch Factory on October 30.
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Eight year’s prior, he was the only suspect named in the homicide investigation into Van Camp’s death.
A homicide investigation report obtained by Action News Jax revealed not only was Van Camp found dead in Guthrie’s home, but literally under his bed.
“She loved helping people. She loved her kids,” Van Camp’s daughter Summer Pace said in an interview with Action News Jax.
Guthrie was never charged in relation to Van Camp’s death.
The JSO homicide report listed the case as “exceptionally cleared” after the State Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute the case due to his “mental health status” according to the report.
According to the FBI, “exceptionally cleared” means law enforcement had identified the offender, but encountered a circumstance outside the control of law enforcement that prohibited the agency from arresting, charging, and prosecuting the offender.
“Just because she wasn’t famous or anything like that doesn’t mean that her life was worth any less and doesn’t deserve any kind of justice,” Pace said.
In a statement sent by the State Attorney’s Office Tuesday, a spokesperson contested the reason charges weren’t pursued instead saying it was because “the evidence did not meet the legal standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt.”
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The 48-page homicide investigation report also reveals Guthrie served as a construction worker in the Navy and claimed to suffer from PTSD.
After being honorably discharged, he was apparently shot in the head according to the report, after which family members told investigators his mental health took a rapid turn for the worse.
A day before Van Camp’s body was found underneath Guthrie’s bed, he was arrested and Baker Acted after attacking his father with a cord that was consistent with the weapon police believe was used to kill Van Camp.
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He was sent to a state mental health facility as the State Attorney’s Office pursued charges related to the assault of Guthrie’s father.
While there, the homicide report revealed Guthrie allegedly attacked another patient, “in a manner that was similar to the way” Van Camp was killed.
Guthrie was also accused and convicted of stabbing a man outside a liquor store after being released from the hospital in 2020.
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He was sent back the hospital where he remained until he was convicted of the stabbing and attack on his father in 2024.
He was released on time served after the judge imposed a more lenient sentence than the one sought by the State Attorney’s Office.
Now, with Guthrie facing second-degree murder charges roughly a year after his latest release, Pace is praying for justice for her mother and Guthrie’s most recent alleged victim.
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“And I do hope that something sticks or some trend is seen where they’re like, ‘this person should not be out in the public’ cause it really would be sad to see him slip through the cracks again,” Pace said.
The State Attorney’s Office has indicated Van Camp’s case is not closed as far as it is concerned.
“We remain steadfast in our commitment to pursuing justice in this case and to protect the safety of our community,” a spokesperson for the State Attorney’s Office told Action News Jax in the statement sent Wednesday.
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