Man confesses to killing, brings body to lawyer's office

A Lee County man who drove a dead neighbor to his attorney's office will not be arrested, his attorney, Robert Harris, said late Wednesday night.

John Marshall walked into Harris' Fort Myers law firm Wednesday claiming he had killed Ted Hubbell in self-defense in Bokeelia and brought the body with him in the bed of his pickup.

Lee County Sheriff's deputies on the scene declined to confirm whether Marshall will be arrested or not.

Marshall spent the majority of Wednesday holed up at the Harris Law Firm on Virginia Avenue.

At 10:33 p.m. Marshall, who had injuries, left his lawyer's office bound for Lee Memorial Hospital. He has since been released, according to news partners WINK News.

Marshall exited the practice wearing a black jacket over his head to avoid the news cameras waiting for him outside.

Marshall, told his attorney that he had wrestled the gun away from the other man and fatally shot him in the scuffle earlier in the afternoon, Harris said.

Marshall, 52, had a swollen lip, a freshly missing tooth, another tooth that is chipped and what looked like two broken thumbs, Harris said. Marshall said he brought the man to the attorney's office because he didn't know who else to trust.

Attorneys called 911 shortly after he arrived at the law firm about 4 p.m.

The two men had been in some sort of dispute over property work in Bokeelia, Harris said. Marshall had called the attorneys days before the incident saying he feared for his safety, Harris said. The lawyers said they had advised him to get a restraining order, he said.

Harris said the victim's name is Ted Hubbell. According to the Lee County property appraiser's office, a Theodore Hubbell Jr. owned a home at 6395 Hodges Drive just across the street from Marshall's property at 6418 Hodges Drive.

"It's the cleanest-cut case of self defense I've ever seen," Harris said.

Marshall does have a pending criminal charge involving an assault with a weapon, Harris said. He did not elaborate.

Harris said Marshall told him he remembers little about the fight or the roughly 30-mile drive from Bokeelia to the law offices. He called his wife, Harris said, but doesn't remember the conversation.

"I believe he's in shock — probably now still," Harris said, a few hours after Marshall arrived. "He's still breathing heavy. He's looking like a man who lost the world."

The Lee County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday night only that investigators were looking into the death.

Harris said he's never handled a case involving a client bringing a body with him.

"They don't teach you about this in law school. That's for sure," he said. "I believe we've handled ourselves correctly, but I'm a little in shock myself. This is not something that happens every day."

The offices are located on a quiet street between West First Street and McGregor Boulevard, a short walk from the Edison & Ford Winter Estates, one of the community's most popular tourist destinations.

Marshall's neighbors say moved into his home on the 2500 block of 40th street west in Lehigh Acres about one or two months ago.

Prior to moving in, Joas Jeanfort, 33, said Marshall came by and cleaned the home every time a tenant moved out.

Marshall, by all accounts, often kept to himself.

Phone calls to a cellphone number listed as Marshall's in a sheriff's incident report have gone unanswered.

Jeanfort said he saw Marshall planting a tree in his front yard and layering the ground with mulch.

"Last time I saw him he was probably doing some tile work," Jeanfort said.

A sheriff's deputy and investigator left the home at around 6 p.m.

Crime scene tape was taken down. Knocks on the front door went unanswered.

According to Robert Harris, Marshall's attorney, his client is staying with family.

Ryan Martinez, who lives a couple of doors down from Marshall, said he sees him and his wife leave for work in the mornings.

"I waved to him once, but I never approached him," Martinez, 23, said.

"I was shocked."

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