Man Who Said ICE Might Have Picked Up His Missing Girlfriend Charged with Her Murder: Police

Saul Garcia Gonzalez, 40, has been hit with a second-degree murder charge in connection with the death of Nerida Martel, 37, after her body was found floating in a canal at approximately 3:40 p.m. on October 11. He has denied killing his girlfriend.

The suspect was arrested on Wednesday after investigators uncovered a string of evidence connecting him to Martel's death, as well as a possible motive. On Thursday, he was denied bond and is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center.

In their reports, as seen by Local 10, investigators with the MDSO Homicide Bureau broke down a timeline of events related to Martel's disappearance and Garcia Gonzalez's alleged connections.

It started on October 5, one day before her disappearance, when Martel purportedly "reached out to a friend seeking a place to stay for only her and her daughter." Martel and Garcia Gonzalez lived together and shared a 2-year-old daughter, with police reporting that relatives described him as verbally abusive. It was their belief, per documentation reviewed by CBS News, that Martel was "attempting to leave" Garcia Gonzalez and "end the relationship."

On October 6, Martel vanished, according to what Garcia Gonzalez ultimately told MDSO Hammocks District deputies when he reported her missing three days later, per the Miami Herald.

Deputies noted in their documents that Martel's brother told them he found it suspicious it took Garcia Gonzalez a full day to tell her family that she had disappeared, and it would be even longer before he officially reported her missing.

Investigators also stated that after her disappearance, Garcia Gonzalez told at least one close friend "he believed the victim was possibly in the custody of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement." This friend, per The Independent, urged him to file a missing person's report when they could not find her name in federal detention records.

When he reported her missing to authorities, Garcia Gonzalez told responding deputies that the last time he'd seen her was when she was getting ready to go to work. She was still at home, he said per the arrest report, when he left to take their daughter to daycare. He told police she was planning to catch a ride to work.

However, the defendant allegedly told her family, friends, and even her employer that the last time he'd seen her was when he dropped her off at a bus stop that day so that she could go to work, per the arrest report. This discrepancy, in part, led to a deeper investigation into Garcia Gonzalez himself.

Martel's employer told deputies it was shocking that she never showed up to wrk as she was a dedicated employee and diligent about her job, per the Herald.

As part of their investigation, deputies tracked his cell phone data, which pinged at his home on October 6 when he told investigators he'd left to drop his and Martel's daughter off at daycare. Later that day, his phone "traveled" to the canal where Martel's body would ultimately be found.

According to police documentation, the defendant's cell phone "stayed near the canal traveling around it, until he drove back to his residence." There was also surveillance footage reviewed that captured his Toyota Camry traveling in the area of the canal at that time.

Additionally, Martel's cell phone records showed that it stayed at home that day and during Garcia Gonzalez's phone's first trip to the canal, which is less than half a mile from the couple's home. His phone was then tracked returning to the home before both phones made their way back to the canal together and Martel's phone was turned off.

The medical examiner's report came back on November 25, ruling Martel's death a homicide and detailing that she had been shot in the head before her body was dumped in the canal.

The Independent and the Herald reported on a previous 911 call that sent deputies to the couple's home in May 2025. In this call, a woman's voice was reportedly heard screaming for help while a man shouted in the background. A child was also heard in the audio before the call disconnected, but police reported they were unable to locate the caller.