Surveillance video shows the moments a man was arrested after his partner’s body was found in a canal not too far from where they lived.
Saul Garcia Gonzalez, 40, is charged with second-degree murder after detectives said he allegedly killed 37-year-old Nerida Martel in October before reporting her missing to police. The two have a 2-year-old child together.
Martel was found in a canal with a gunshot wound to her head about three blocks from the house where the couple lived in southwest Miami-Dade.
According to the police report, after contradicting statements from Garcia about the last time he had seen her, an investigator was able to find surveillance video of his vehicle traveling throughout the area of the canal.
Martel had been reported missing by Garcia on Oct. 6. During the investigation, a close person to the family had mentioned Martel had been looking for a place to stay with her daughter, claiming that Garcia was verbally abusive.
Garcia was arrested Wednesday at a shopping center, with surveillance footage showing several police cars arriving. He placed his hands behind his back and was handcuffed.
An employee at the shopping center said Garcia would frequent the area with his daughter.
“He always came alone with the little girl. He was normal, easy to get along with. He was never disrespectful. He was pleasant,” she said. “He would come by and would always say good morning. He was always very attentive.”
She said that not too long after, the Department of Children and Families came to pick up the daughter at a daycare nearby.
“The little girl is what worries me the most. Her mother has passed away, and now her father is now in jail,” the employee said.
Garcia was denied bond and is pending his next court date.