Jacksonville man sentenced to 35 years for Brentwood area murder of 26-year-old woman

A man from Jacksonville has been sentenced to 35 years in state prison for killing a woman in the city’s Brentwood neighborhood. The sentencing, which took place on Tuesday, marked the conclusion of a case that began in the summer of 2024 and involved weeks of investigation, multiple police searches, and a plea agreement in court.

Court documents confirm that 36-year-old Justin Henderson entered a guilty plea to charges of second-degree murder and tampering with evidence in the death of 26-year-old Quintasha Ross. In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed to drop an additional charge of abuse of a dead body.

The investigation began on June 16, 2024, when officers from the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office were called to a residence on West 41st Street. A witness had contacted authorities after noticing a foul odor coming from the property. She also reported that she had been unable to reach Ross for approximately two weeks, which she found unusual and concerning.

According to Henderson’s arrest report, officers searched the home during that first visit and found Henderson present inside. No one else was located, and police at the time did not detect any strong odor. When questioned, Henderson told them he had not seen Ross in several weeks. The report classified his relationship to her as that of an acquaintance.

The following day, family members of Ross contacted law enforcement to voice further concerns about her welfare. Their statements prompted a second search of the home, this time involving detectives from the homicide and missing persons units. During that search, Ross’s body was discovered inside the property. Investigators then reclassified the case as a homicide.

Henderson was taken into custody and remained in jail as the legal process unfolded. Over the months that followed, the case progressed through the court system, with Henderson initially maintaining a not-guilty plea before deciding to change it.

At the sentencing hearing, the judge ordered Henderson to serve 35 years in prison, with credit for the 420 days he had already spent in custody awaiting trial and resolution of the case. The conviction and sentence bring closure to a case that drew concern from neighbors, friends, and family when Ross first went missing.

Henderson will serve his sentence in a Florida state correctional facility under the terms of the plea agreement reached with prosecutors.