A man was arrested Wednesday in connection to the murder of a woman who was found dead in a Southwest Miami-Dade canal last month.
Miami-Dade Sheriff’s Office charged Saul Garcia Gonzalez, 40, with second-degree murder.
Detectives said Gonzalez killed his girlfriend, 37-year old Nerida Martel, in October before reporting her missing to police.
Saul Gonzalez, 40
Gonzalez gave conflicting reports on when he last saw Martel after she went missing on October 6, according to an arrest affidavit. On October 11, Martel’s body was found floating in a canal near the home she lived in with Gonzalez and their two-year old daughter. The canal is located on Southwest 168th Street and 205th Avenue.
Deputies spent weeks investigating the case. They used phone records to determine that Gonzalez was at the same canal where Martel’s body was found days before he reported her missing, an arrest affidavit said.
The victim’s family told investigators that Gonzalez had been verbally abusive towards her, an arrest affidavit said. The investigator also said a friend told police Martel was looking for a place to stay with her daughter, indicating that she was trying to leave the relationship, according to the police report.
The Medical Examiner’s Office determined Martel suffered a gunshot wound to the head.
On Thursday, a Miami-Dade judge ordered Gonzalez to be held with no bond.