A Florida man has been arrested in the death of a missing 23-year-old mother whose body was found in a canal over the weekend in Martin County.
Eric William Westergard, 45, of Jupiter Farms is being held without bail at the Palm Beach County Jail in the killing of Perrin Damron, according to a report by Treasure Coast Newspapers, which cited statements by the sheriff’s offices in Martin and Palm Beach counties.
The man, whom authorities describe as a family friend, was charged Monday with first-degree murder after leading detectives to the woman’s body in the Okeechobee Waterway along State Road 710 near Indiantown, the news outlet reported.
A close friend called police to report Damron missing late Saturday, concerned that she hadn’t seen the mother at her Manatee Creek home in Stuart since early the previous evening.
Police told reporters that Damron was last seen alive about 6 p.m. Friday when her son arrived home from school with his father.
“Ms. Damron was extremely careful and a loving mother — and had not been in touch with the child since Friday,” Martin County Sheriff William Snyder told reporters.
Investigators with the Martin County Sheriff’s Office scoured the area for Damron throughout Saturday night but could find no signs of her.
By Sunday morning, Westergard became a person of interest after police learned he had been seen at Damron’s house about 6:30 p.m. Friday, when the two left in a car together, the newspaper reported.
Palm Beach County sheriff’s officials caught up with Westergard at his home in Jupiter Farms later the same day and questioned him about Damron’s whereabouts.
“The suspect made incriminating statements,” Snyder said, according to the newspaper. “There was some physical evidence found at the house.”
“Ultimately, the suspect led us to the overpass over the Okeechobee Waterway at 710 coming into Indiantown,” Snyder told reporters. “Our detectives, along with the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office and our marine control assets, recovered Ms. Damron’s body.”
Authorities have not yet revealed a motive for the crime nor the manner in which Damron was killed.
The investigation is continuing, and an autopsy was being planned.
Previously, Westergard made headlines in 2018 when a kangaroo escaped from an animal sanctuary that he ran at the time in Palm Beach County, the newspaper reported.
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