Man arrested on murder charge after woman found dead in Keystone

Hillsborough deputies have arrested a man on a murder charge after a woman was found dead Monday in a home in Keystone.

Deputies responded about 4:45 a.m. to a 911 call about a woman found unresponsive inside a home on Crescent Road, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies found the woman dead with signs of upper body trauma.

In a news release Monday evening, the sheriff’s office identified the woman as Valerie Dandrea, 64, and said Cris Jennings, 53, was arrested in connection with her death.

According to the sheriff’s office, Jennings lives on the property “in a structure separate from the victim’s home.” He admitted to shooting Dandrea after an argument about money, the news release states.

Detectives also learned that Jennings threatened another person with a gun at his residence before deputies arrived.

An arrest affidavit made public Tuesday provides more details about the investigation.

A 911 caller reported that Dandrea was lying on the ground in a pool of a blood and had earlier been threatened by a man who goes by “Dread,” the affidavit states. Dandrea lived in a home on the property that had been separated into two dwellings, and two outbuildings on the property were also being used as residences.

Deputies arrived and found Dandrea with a single gunshot wound in her throat.

In an interview with detectives, Jennings said he lives on the property with Dandrea and three other people, and they all work for the property owner to fix the place up. Jennings said he hadn’t received his $300 payment for the week and called the property owner’s secretary, who told Jennings that Dandrea had been given the money to pay him.

Jennings said he went to Dandrea’s residence between 11 and 11:30 p.m. Sunday and again about midnight Monday and both times confronted her about the payment. He said nothing physical happened, and that he later found Dandrea unresponsive lying in a pool of blood after another resident of the property told Jennings to go check on her. Jennings said he never went into the room.

When detectives noticed what appeared to be blood on one of Jennings’ sneakers and on his shin and asked him about it, he changed his story. He said he did go into the room and knelt down to check on her, which is how the blood got on him, according to the affidavit. But detectives noted his shin didn’t touch the ground during the demonstration.

When confronted about that and asked if any of Dandrea’s DNA would be found on him, Jennings again amended his account. He said that when he confronted her about midnight, she tried to hit him and he pushed her away. He then admitted to going back to the room a third time and said Dandrea refused to pay him and tried to slap him two times. He blocked the first, he said, but the second slap connected to the right side of his head.

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Jennings said at that point, he backed up, pulled a gun from his waistband and shot Dandrea once in the chest, according to the affidavit.

“During this incident, the defendant was able to exit the residence; however, he instead drew the firearm from his pocket and shot the victim,” a detective wrote in the affidavit. “Due to the actions of the defendant, the victim suffered a fatal gunshot wound to her throat, which caused her death.”

Jennings was arrested on charges of premeditated first-degree murder, armed burglary with battery, aggravated battery and false imprisonment. Records show he was being held at the Falkenburg Road Jail without bond.

“Our deputies acted quickly to apprehend the suspect and bring some measure of closure to the victim’s family,” Sheriff Chad Chronister said in the news release. “This tragic incident underscores our commitment to ensuring that those who commit violent acts are held accountable.”