5/14 10:41 AM PT -- 5/14 GBI officials say it's ID'd the person who left this note and adds, "the individual is not connected to the Ahmaud Arbery murder investigation in any way." The investigation remains active and ongoing.
11:02 AM PT -- Arbery's family attorney, Lee Merritt, tells TMZ ... a picture of the note will be sent immediately to GBI agents along with investigators working for District Attorney Joyette Holmes.
Merritt calls the note a "critical piece of evidence" and says it's now part of Ahmaud's legal team's case file. He says investigators for the family are working on gathering more information about the note.
A strange note was left at the exact spot where Ahmaud Arbery was shot to death -- and it seems to imply there's a witness to his slaying who hasn't come forward yet.
This card was placed at the makeshift memorial for Ahmaud on the same street he was killed in February. Local news station, News4JAX, captured the photo of the card, and what it says is incredibly haunting.
The note reads, "Ahmaud, I am so sorry. I should have stopped them. I am so sorry." No name is signed at the bottom, and no other information or context is provided. It's also unclear when the card was left there.
While the meaning is somewhat ambiguous, the most obvious possible takeaway from this is that there might've been a person witnessing the killing first-hand -- perhaps from a neighboring home nearby -- but only watched from afar instead of stepping in to help.
It could mean any number of things, though ... but it certainly appears somebody is feeling regret after the fact about something that could've been done to potentially save Ahmaud's life.
Now, the McMichaels are facing murder and aggravated assault charges -- and a new prosecutor has been assigned to the case. As we reported ... Ahmaud's mother says she wants an eye for an eye here, demanding the death penalty for her son's killers.
Originally published -- 5/13 8:17 AM PT