A 26-year-old man is facing an attempted murder charge after authorities say he attacked a woman walking along a beach in Martin County late Thursday night.
The incident occurred around 11 p.m. at Tiger Shore Beach, where the woman was walking and speaking on the phone with a relative, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators said the man approached the woman from behind, struck her and pushed her into the water. The woman told authorities he attempted to drown her during a struggle and that she eventually lost consciousness.
Believing she was dead, the suspect took her cellphone and threw it into the ocean before leaving the area, authorities said.
After regaining consciousness, the woman walked more than a mile to Stuart Beach, where she found a sheriff’s deputy.
Deputies canvassed the area over the next two days, reviewing surveillance footage, searching for witnesses and monitoring the beach for a suspect.
On Sunday night, the Port St. Lucie Police Department contacted the sheriff’s office after responding to a call in Port St. Lucie involving a suicidal man who claimed he had killed a woman on a Martin County beach.
Detectives interviewed the man and identified him as the alleged attacker. Authorities said Said Alexander Hernandez Gonzalez told investigators he saw the woman alone on the beach and attacked her because she made him angry. He said he stopped when he believed she was dead, then went to his vehicle, smoked marijuana, drank vodka and left the scene.
When asked whether he felt remorse, Hernandez Gonzalez told detectives he felt nothing, according to authorities.
He was arrested and charged with attempted murder. He is being held at the Martin County Jail. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed a detainer on him, authorities said.