By Dan Breitwieser, WCJB TV 20 News.

Detectives believe Archie Kelly Jr., 78, better known to all as Junior, was killed by an intruder looking for money. Gilchrist County Sheriff David Turner says it is common knowledge in the area around Bell that Kelly had sold a few cattle recently for several thousand dollars.

Kelly's best friend, Mildred Culpepper, who found his body says the murder scene is a bloody mess. She knew Junior Kelly for more than 43 years, eating dinner with him every night for at least the last ten.

"He was a picky eater," says Culpepper. "He was the best friend. I said I've lost the best friend I've ever had in this life."

Culpepper was the last known person to talk to him Tuesday night, and the first person to find his body Wednesday morning. She says Junior was missing part of his foot, possibly from a gunshot wound and there was blood all over her friend's head and face.

"You could tell that he put up a struggle," says Culpepper. "But it was just too much for him at his age."

Thursday, deputies were scouring the property for clues, finding broken glass consistent with a broken window in Kelly's bedroom--the same room his body was found. Sheriff David Turner believes the killer lives local and heard about Kelly's cash from the cow sale.

"It's quite apparent that someone thought he was an easy target or easy victim," says Turner.

When friends saw Kelly's truck in his garage mid-morning, they knew something was wrong.

"Whoever did it, it was a horrible thing," says Culpepper. "I hope and pray they catch who did this and they pay for it."

Mildred Culpepper estimates Junior Kelly owned about 400 head of cattle and about a thousand acres, mostly of pasture.

Sheriff Turner would not say if an intruder made off with the cash. He is still waiting on autopsy results to give more information on the cause of death.