A Florida couple was arrested after luring a man from Facebook on a date, before kidnapping him, taking turns cutting his throat and then throwing him from a bridge as part of a twisted murder and robbery plot, authorities said Tuesday.
But despite the culprits’ best efforts, the badly injured victim survived and was able to lead law enforcement officers to his alleged attackers.
Suspects Natalie Fonseca, 25, and Nafis Reynolds, 31, were booked into the Escambia County Jail Monday on a slew of charges, including attempted murder, kidnaping, armed robbery, arson and drug-related counts, all stemming from the near-fatal Oct. 7 incident.
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During what investigators described as an “unorthodox date,” Fonseca invited the man to her home, where she introduced Reynolds as her “uncle.”
The trio then took a drive to the victim’s home, before getting back in the car and going on another ride, during which officials said Fonseca and Reynolds attacked him “and told him he was going to die.”
The duo allegedly robbed the man of his shoes, phone and money and took away the keys to his car.
“They then took turns cutting his throat before throwing him over the bridge rail and into Escambia River,” the sheriff’s office said.
Fonseca and Reynolds drove away in the victim’s car, which was later found abandoned and engulfed in flames.
“Unbeknownst to our would-be killers, the victim was somehow able to survive the fall from the bridge and the cuts to his throat,” officials said.
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Despite his injuries, the victim was able to make his way on foot to the Cumberland Farms parking lot, where he flagged down a sheriff’s deputy who was there on patrol.
The deputy described the victim in the report as being barefoot and struggling to stand, with “large amounts of dried blood on his face, neck, and hands.”
The officer observed that the man had deep cuts on the front side of his neck.
The man, who only spoke Spanish, told the deputy through Google Translate that he was 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 remained for several days.
During an interview at the hospital, the victim detailed for investigators how met Fonseca on Facebook five days earlier, according to the report. He said the woman told him that she was pressed for cash and needed food, so he offered to meet up with her and drive her to get tacos.
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Following his release from the hospital, the victim led 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 the suspects in the attack.
But it was not 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 was being held in jail on $852,000 bond, while Reynolds’ bond was set at $851,000.
* Original Article:
https://nypost.com/2023/10/25/news/florida-couple-accused-of-slashing-mans-throat-throwing-him-off-bridge/amp/
