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Foul Play Feared In Man's Death

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By JOSH POLTILOVE

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 23, 2008

ST. PETERSBURG - Jason Michael Downey met friends at a St. Petersburg bar Thursday night and left about 2 a.m.

He never made it home.

His body was found floating in Tampa Bay on Sunday morning, a day after friends became alarmed because he did not show up for work and reported him missing.

"We're just in mourning," Downey's aunt, Val Stubl, said Monday. "We're just shocked."

Stubl went to the Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner's Office on Monday afternoon and confirmed that the man found in the water about 10:30 a.m. Sunday near Interstate 275 and Fourth Street North was her 31-year-old nephew.

Downey's license was in his pocket and he was wearing jeans, boots and a black long-sleeve shirt, an outfit he often wore, relatives said.

The death remains under investigation.

A preliminary autopsy on Downey revealed no obvious signs of trauma, St. Petersburg Police Department spokesman Bill Proffitt said.

Investigators consider the death suspicious, and toxicology tests are pending.

"We'd like to find out what he was doing at that location prior to his death and what happened to his car," Proffitt said.

Investigators are still looking for Downey's 1998 green Toyota RAV4 with Florida tag 828HWN.

Downey, of 708 W. Euclid Ave. in Tampa, had met with friends Thursday night at Georgie's Alibi, 3100 Third Ave. N. He reportedly left the bar about 2 a.m. Friday but never made it home.

Downey, a technician for an Apollo Beach veterinarian, was at the bar with his roommate and friends, Stubl said. He and his roommate decided to head home in separate cars. Downey told the roommate he would be right behind him after he finished his cigarette.

The roommate got home and went to bed, and when he left for work, Downey still wasn't home, Stubl said. Downey's family tried to find him. Stubl called Downey's cell phone, but it went straight to voice mail.

The family called hospitals looking for him or a John Doe and filed a missing person's report with police. They checked to see whether Downey had been arrested. They asked around at the bar. They drove around St. Petersburg looking for his car.

Stubl said her nephew had no enemies, but said she fears that "maybe somebody did something to him." His mother, Kim Truman, said she also suspects foul play.

"I'm thinking somebody must have abducted him or got ahold of him," Truman said. "In the parking lot, something happened. After his friends left him, after they walked away, something happened."

Leslie Sierra, Downey's boss, said Downey has worked at Sierra Animal Hospital since it opened in January. In addition to his role as a technician, Downey was an office manager.

"He was very reliable and very good with people," Sierra said. "Good people skills. A very good team player. Clients really loved him."

Downey, a former flight attendant, enjoyed camping and traveling, and was happy and upbeat, Sierra said.

"For a short life, he lived his life better than most people," Sierra said.

Stubl said Downey was a wonderful person who did everything for everybody. Stubl, 28, considers him more like a brother than a nephew.

"I just want to scream," Stubl said. "He's my best friend. He's a really good person. Why? Why him?"

Stubl said the past few days have been terrible for the family.

"It's been horrible. A shock," she said. "His little sister - she's 11 - we just sat and said this can't be real."

Tribune reporter Stephen Thompson and News Channel 8 reporter Krista Klaus contributed to this report. Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at jpoltilove@tampatrib.com or (813) 259-7691.

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