A Miami man who told friends his girlfriend had been seized by immigration authorities has been charged with her murder after investigators uncovered his fabricated story.
The Disappearance and False Claims
When 37-year-old Nerida Martel vanished in early October, her boyfriend Saul Garcia-Gonzalez offered a chilling explanation to concerned friends - suggesting she might have been taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Gonzalez, 40, told deputies he last saw Martel on October 6 when he left their home to take their two-year-old daughter to daycare. He claimed Martel was planning to catch a ride to work, but she never arrived at her job, which concerned her employer as she was known for being diligent about her work.
According to the sheriff's office, Gonzalez told a worried friend that Martel "was possibly in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement." However, when her name failed to appear in federal detention records, the friend urged him to file a missing persons report.
Investigation Uncovers Contradictions
Investigators soon found significant discrepancies in Gonzalez's account of events. He told authorities he last saw Martel at home, but reportedly told others he had dropped her at a bus stop before work, according to an arrest affidavit.
Cellphone data thoroughly undermined his claims, with records showing Martel's phone never left the couple's home on October 6. Meanwhile, Gonzalez's device travelled to the canal where her body was later discovered, less than half a mile away.
The phone data revealed even more damning evidence, showing Gonzalez returning home and then travelling back to the canal with both phones, before Martel's phone was permanently switched off.
History of Domestic Disturbance and Tragic Discovery
Records show a previous 911 call to the couple's home in May, when a woman was heard screaming for help with a man yelling in the background. A child's voice was also audible during the call, though deputies were unable to locate the caller at the time.
On October 11, just 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., according to the Miami-Dade Sheriff's Office.
An autopsy later determined she died from a gunshot wound to the head, and the Medical Examiner's Office ruled her death a homicide on November 25. That same day, Gonzalez was arrested for second-degree murder, though he has denied killing Martel.
"Through investigative means, MDSO Homicide Bureau detectives were able to determine that the victim had been murdered by the subject," the sheriff's office stated in a release.
Gonzalez appeared in court last Thursday, where a judge denied him bond. He remains in custody at the Turner Guilford Knight Detention Center as the case progresses.
