Miami man who told his friends his girlfriend had been seized by ICE has now been charged with her murder
When 37-year-old Nerida Martel disappeared in early October, her boyfriend made a chilling statement: that immigration agents may have taken her away.
But days later, Martel’s body suddenly surfaced. Miami Now investigators say her boyfriend, Saul Garcia Gonzalez, made up the channel. ICE He claims and is accused of killing her.
Gonzalez, 40, told deputies she last saw him on Oct. 6 when he left their home to take their two-year-old daughter to day care. He said Martel planned to take a car to work. But he never showed up, which shocked his employer because he was diligent about his job. Miami Herald reported.
Gonzalez told a concerned friend that Martel was “probably in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement,” according to the sheriff’s office. But when his name did not appear in federal custody records, his friend insisted he file a missing persons report.
Investigators soon found inconsistencies in Gonzalez’s story. He told authorities he last saw Martel at his home, but told others he dropped her off at the bus stop before work, according to the arrest affidavit. NBC is in Miami.
Saul Garcia-Gonzalez, 40, faces second-degree murder charges in connection with the death of his girlfriend, Nerida Martel, 37 (Miami Dade Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)
Cell phone data further disproves Martel’s claims, with records showing that her phone never left the couple’s home on October 6, while Gonzalez’s device was found less than a half-mile from the canal where her body was later found. Phone data also shows that Gonzalez returned home before Martel’s phone was turned off and then returned to the canal with both phones.
Previously, a 911 call was made to the couple’s home in May, and a woman’s screams for help were heard while a man was screaming in the background. A child’s voice was also heard, but deputies were unable to locate the caller.
On Oct. 11, a few days after Gonzalez reported Martel missing, her body was found floating in a canal near SW 168th Street and SW 205th Avenue around 3:40 p.m. Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office.
An autopsy later determined that he died from a gunshot wound to the head, and the Medical Examiner’s Office ruled his death a homicide on November 25. That day, Gonzalez was arrested for second-degree murder. He denied killing Martel.
“Through investigative tools, MDSO Homicide Bureau detectives were able to determine that the victim was killed by the suspect,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
Gonzalez appeared in court on Thursday and the judge denied his bail, NBC Miami reported. He is currently being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Detention Center.
