A Miami-Dade man who told friends that federal immigration agents had taken his missing girlfriend is now charged with shooting her in the head and dumping her body in a canal.
Saul Garcia Gonzalez, 40, was denied bond last week on a second-degree murder charge in the death of 37-year-old Nerida Martel. Her body was found on October 11 in a canal three blocks from the home they shared.
Gonzalez reported Martel missing on October 6, but detectives say his story quickly fell apart. According to arrest records, he gave conflicting accounts of when he last saw her. He told police that Martel found her own ride to work while he took their 2-year-old daughter to daycare, yet he told a family friend that ICE had detained her.
Investigators say phone data contradicted his claims. Martel’s phone was still at the home while Gonzalez was dropping off their daughter. Records then showed his phone traveling to the canal, returning home, and later going back to the canal—this time with Martel’s phone, which was shut off shortly afterward.
Detectives believe Martel had been trying to leave the relationship. Friends told police she had complained of verbal abuse and was looking for a place to stay with her daughter.
Police arrested Gonzalez on Wednesday at a shopping center. The couple’s 2-year-old daughter is now in the custody of the Department of Children and Families.
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