A man who tried to drown a woman at a Florida beach before leaving her for dead in an apparent random attack is facing attempted murder charges, authorities said.
The incident happened around 11 p.m. Thursday as the woman was walking along Tiger Shores Beach in Stuart, Martin County Sheriff’s Office officials said.
The victim told authorities she was on the phone with a relative when the attacker came up from behind and struck her, then pushed her in the water and tried to drown her.
She said she lost consciousness during the violent struggle, leading the suspect to believe she was dead, the sheriff’s office said.
He then grabbed her phone and threw it in the ocean before walking away.
The victim regained consciousness and was able to walk more than a mile until she found a deputy.
Investigators spent two days canvassing the area, reviewing camera footage, searching for witnesses and monitoring the beach for a potential suspect.
On Sunday night, Port St. Lucie Police responded to a call of a suicidal male who claimed he murdered a woman on a Martin County Beach, authorities said.
The man, 26-year-old Said Alexander Hernandez Gonzalez, told officers he was at the beach and saw the woman alone, and made statements indicating she made him angry, so he attacked her and drowned her, the sheriff’s office said.
He said he stopped when he believed she was dead, then went to his vehicle, smoked marijuana, drank vodka, and left the scene, the sheriff’s office said.
When asked if he was remorseful, Hernandez Gonzalez said he felt nothing, the sheriff’s office said.
Hernandez Gonzalez was booked into jail on an attempted murder charge.
The sheriff’s office said Hernandez Gonzalez is an illegal immigrant from Venezuela and has an ICE detainer.
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