(Marion County, FL) Today, jurors returned a guilty verdict for 36-year-old Chad Paul Anciaux, who was accused of a vicious attack on his then-girlfriend, Jennifer Powell. The brutal battery resulted in the death of Jennifer on November 16, 2020.

The incident took place on November 6, 2020, at the Stage Stop Inn, located off Silver Springs Blvd. Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the hotel after a caller advised a female was beaten by a male with a baseball bat.

When officials responded, they located the victim lying on the sidewalk with a large amount of blood near her head. Investigators interviewed witnesses on scene who indicated Anciaux had chased the victim out of the hotel room and struck her repeatedly with a metal baseball bat. Video surveillance evidence from the hotel corroborated witnesses’ statements.

The investigation revealed that Anciaux, after allegedly chasing Powell from a motel room, brutally struck her nearly 20 times with a baseball bat. The victim was hospitalized and later succumbed to her injuries.

“Today’s verdict sends a clear message that acts of violence will not be tolerated,” stated William “Bill” Gladson, Fifth Judicial Circuit State Attorney. “Anciaux will spend the rest of his life behind bars, an appropriate sentence that reflects the severity of this heinous crime.”

Officials searched for Anciaux, who was apprehended shortly thereafter, despite his resistance during the arrest. Additionally, Anciaux previously pleaded guilty and was sentenced to prison on a charge of failure to register as a sexual offender (having previously failed to register as a sexual predator in Florida, with a prior misdemeanor sex crime conviction from Iowa).

Assistant State Attorneys Toby Hunt and Amy Berndt successfully prosecuted the case.