A Florida couple was arrested after luring a man from Facebook for a date, before kidnapping him, taking turns slitting his throat and then throwing him off a bridge as part of a twisted murder and robbery plot, authorities said Tuesday.
But despite the criminals’ best efforts, the critically injured victim survived and was able to lead law enforcement officers to his alleged assailant.
Suspects Natalie Fonseca, 25, and Nafis Reynolds, 31, were booked into the Escambia County Jail on Monday on multiple charges, including attempted murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, arson and drug-related charges, all stemming from the near-fatal Oct. 7 incidents.
The victim, who has not been named, met Fonseca on Facebook earlier this month and agreed to have dinner with him, according to a press release from the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office and an arrest report filed in the case and cited by station WEAR.
During what investigators described as an “unusual date,” Fonseca invited the man to his home, where he introduced Reynolds as his “uncle.”
The three then drove to the victim’s home, before getting back in the car and continuing on another trip, where officers said Fonseca and Reynolds assaulted him “and told him he was going to die.”
Natalie Fonseca, 25, is suspected of luring a man on Facebook and then taking part in a violent attack that nearly killed him. Escambia County Sheriff’s Office
The two allegedly robbed the man of his shoes, phone and money and took his car keys.
“They then took turns cutting his throat before throwing him over the bridge rails and into the Escambia River,” the sheriff’s office said.
Fonseca and Reynolds drove away in the victim’s car, which was later found abandoned and on fire.
“Unbeknownst to our would-be killers, the victim somehow managed to survive the fall from the bridge and cut his throat,” the officer said.
The badly injured man managed to swim to a patch of land, where he collapsed from exhaustion. The next morning, a sailor saw him and brought him ashore.
Despite his injuries, the victim was able to walk to the Cumberland Farms parking lot, where he dropped off a sheriff’s deputy who was there on patrol.
Nafis Reynolds, 31, allegedly took turns with his girlfriend to cut the victim’s throat, before throwing him off the bridge. Escambia County Sheriff’s Office
The deputy described the victim in the report as barefoot and struggling to stand, with “a large amount of dried blood on his face, neck and hands.”
The officer observed that the man had a deep cut to the front of his neck.
The man, who spoke only Spanish, told deputies through Google Translate that he had been beaten, slashed, robbed and thrown off the Escambia River Bridge the night before.
He was then taken to Sacred Heart Hospital, where he underwent surgery and stayed for several days.
During an interview at the hospital, the victim detailed for investigators how she met Fonseca on Facebook five days earlier, according to the report. He said the woman told him she was pressed for cash and needed food, so he offered to meet her and drive her to get tacos.
The next day, Fonseca allegedly texted the victim again and asked to meet. The man drives to his house, where he meets Reynolds, setting the stage for a night of torture that almost ends in his death.
After leaving the hospital, the victim took officers to Fonseca’s home, which was familiar to them from a previous call for a disturbance in September.
Deputies also used surveillance video from a store to identify Fonseca and Reynolds as suspects in the attack.
But it wasn’t until Monday that the pair were spotted walking in the town of Ensley and arrested. Both were found to be in possession of fentanyl, according to the report.
Fonseca is being held in jail on $852,000 bond, while Reynolds’ bond is set at $851,000.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
