CLEARWATER, Fla. — Friends of 49-year-old Jeffrey Chapman said he was a kind man and caring father.
"His kids were his number one priority," said Lisa Owen, a close friend of Chapman.
Owen said Chapman loved nature, his investment company, and spending his time between Maine and Clearwater Beach, where he loved to ride his bike.
"He took pictures of the sunset every day," said Owen.
But his last ride came to a tragic end. Clearwater Police said Chapman was riding his bike late Thursday night on Mandalay Avenue when he was attacked and violently killed.
Police tracked down the vehicle at the scene belonging to 26-year-old Jermaine Bennett of Wesley Chapel, who admitted to randomly attacking Chapman with a tire iron and killing him.
"Everyone is totally broken and totally falling apart," said Owen.
Police claimed Bennett showed no remorse for Chapman's death, and they said he blamed the "ills of society" for the crime. Which is something Owen said she still can’t comprehend.
"Some of the social ills that he was killed over, he was trying to rectify those, he was trying to remediate those, he was trying to irradiate those, so not that anyone deserves that, but they really picked the wrong person," said Owen.
Owen said if the suspects had asked, she believes her friend would’ve tried to help them.
"That’s just who he was; if you needed something, anything, he would drop what he was doing and he’d take care of you all the time, no matter who you were," said Owen.
Police said they are still looking for the second suspect involved.
Anyone with any information on the crime is asked to contact the Clearwater Police Department at (727) 562-4242.
