A Florida man has been charged with attempted murder and domestic battery for an incident with his wife on board his boat 33 miles out to sea.
Douglas Naeher, 60, and his wife set out on a fishing trip from their home in Holmes Beach at about 7 a.m. Sunday morning, according to an arrest affidavit. Once they reached their destination off Bean Point, Naeher began fishing while his wife sat in a bean bag chair on the boat.
But when his fishing line snapped, the victim told police, Naeher “started to become irate.” To avoid a confrontation, the victim slipped into the water to float on a pool noodle, holding onto a rope tied to the boat. In the course of his anger, however, Naeher untied the rope and drove the boat away from her.
“The victim stated she felt the Defendant was leaving her out there to die,” the affidavit said.
Naeher turned around and came back for her, however, and the victim said she believed it was because of another boat in the area. But when she climbed back into the boat, Naeher allegedly began punching her in the head, even stomping on her head with both feet.
“While getting punched and stomped on, the victim stated she went in and out of consciousness,” the document says.
The victim says she pretended to be dead “in an attempt to save her own life,” slowing her breathing and remaining motionless. Naeher then dragged her by the hair to the rear of the boat and pushed her overboard, putting his hands around her neck and strangling her while saying he was “going to f****** kill you.”
As the boat she had seen in the distance drew closer, Naeher let go of the victim, leaving her in the water, and began to drive the boat away again. The victim wrapped her feet around the boat’s ladder. When Naeher stopped the boat again, the victim climbed back in. At that point, Naeher saw her and again began punching and stomping her before again dragging her to the back of the boat and shoving her overboard.
The victim wrapped a rope hanging from the boat around her ankle before husband drove the boat away again. She was dragged for several minutes before pulling herself back into the boat, where Naeher eventually noticed her. Without stopping the boat, Naeher walked to the back to hit his wife again, stopping that only to correct the boat’s course as it neared the canal where they lived.
When Naeher slowed the boat, the victim jumped into the water and swam to shore, then ran to the Holmes Beach Police Department a short distance from their home, reaching there just after 1:30 p.m.
Surveillance video showed Naeher “fleeing the area in his pickup truck” a short time later.
The victim was taken to the hospital for treatment. According to the affidavit, she suffered a concussion and multiple contusions.
“Her head and face were swollen, and her right eye was completely swollen shut,” the document said. “She had bruises on her arms, neck, and face.”
Naeher was ultimately arrested and ordered held without bond, Law&Crime reported. His court date has been set for September.
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[Featured image: Douglas Naeher/Manatee County Sheriff’s Office]
