Jacksonville: Ex-boyfriend charged with murdering missing girlfriend, Teresa Gorczyca
(Teresa Janette Gorczyca, Image credit: Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office)
On Wednesday, the Jacksonville Florida Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of a man charged with the September 2021 murder of a Jacksonville woman whose lifeless body was found in a retention pond in Jacksonville’s Sandalwood area. In conjunction with the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force, the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office announced that 28-year-old North Samuel Cole Pridgen was arrested on March 29 and charged with murdering his ex-girlfriend, 27-year-old Teresa Janette Gorczyca.
Background: On Sunday, September 26, 2021, officers with the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office responded to the report of 27-year-old Teresa Janette Gorczyca having gone missing. As the investigation into her disappearance progressed, detectives developed information that led them to a body of water in the 2100 block of Alfa Romeo Drive in the Sandalwood area of Jacksonville.
Following a search of the area, Teresa’s body was ultimately discovered.
Homicide and Crime Scene units responded to the area and continued their investigations into Teresa’s disappearance and death. Throughout the course of those investigation, officials identified Pridgen as a person of interest and their primary suspect in the case.
After obtaining an arrest warrant, Pridgen was located in the area of 10000 Beach Boulevard on March 29. Following an interview concerning his involvement in the crime, he was placed under arrest for the Teresa’s murder.
Pridgen was booked around 5:20 p.m. Tuesday into the Duval County jail, where he was being held without bond as of Wednesday, online jail records show. Around the time Gorczyca disappeared, several of her friends told News4JAX that they believed she was last seen with Pridgen, her former boyfriend. News4JAX also learned he lives not too far away from where her body was found. ~ News4JAX
(Source: Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office)
~ Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter
