Natalie Fonseca and Nafis Reynolds participated in robbing a man, slashing his neck, and tossing him off a bridge, deputies said. (Mug shot: Escambia County Sheriff’s Office)
In what deputies are construing as an “unorthodox date,” a man hung out with a woman and another individual that she introduced as her “uncle,” according to authorities. But this woman and the “uncle” allegedly turned on the victim, sliced his neck, and tossed him off a bridge.
The victim survived the attack and managed to find a deputy, says the Escambia County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.
The arrest affidavit against the defendants, Natalie Fonseca, 25, and Nafis Naim Reynolds, 31, is a convoluted tale because authorities describe the victim’s story as partially shifting during the investigation. They acknowledged he only spoke Spanish, so the language barrier complicated the efforts at communication, but at one point, an investigator pressed him on certain discrepancies between his story and surveillance footage.
Nonetheless, it’s clear from the sheriff’s office that he was badly injured. A deputy first encountered the victim — bloodied, his face bruised and swollen — on the morning of Oct. 8 at the Cumberland Farms parking lot along Scenic Highway, according to documents.
Authorities described the man as barefoot and hardly able to stand. Dried blood covered his face, neck and hands. There were deep lacerations on the front and sides of his neck.
All told, the victim said he met the woman, later identified as Fonseca, through Facebook.
In a follow-up interview, he allegedly said that after work on Oct. 6, he received a message in which Fonseca requested he bring her something to eat — pizza or some McDonald’s.
They allegedly met at an Xpress Mart and drove over to a Taco Food Truck. He dropped her off at her home, he said in the affidavit.
“Victim later received a message from her thanking him for the tacos and saying that they were very good,” deputies wrote.
Fonseca messaged the victim the next day, saying that she wanted to see him again, documents stated.
The victim said he met her at the same home as the night before. They went to pick up her cat, and eventually wound up at a cookout at her “uncle’s” home.
(Escambia County Sheriff’s public information officer Morgan Lewis told Law&Crime that at this time, investigators don’t believe Reynolds is Fonseca’s uncle. They may have some kind of friendship or romantic relationship, she said.)
The group later picked up some beer and wine, with the victim paying for everything, and they returned to the cookout.
“Victim was ready to leave and got back into the vehicle, the female [Fonseca] was driving, and the black male [Reynolds] got into the vehicle and began punching victim, while the female drove,” authorities wrote. “Victim remembers the female telling him that they were going to take him to a place and take everything from him, kill him, and throw him in the water. Victim thought they were joking until they took him to the bridge, got him out of the vehicle, beat him some more, and then the black male grabbed him, held him, and cut victim’s throat with a knife. Victim yelled, ‘You killed me!’, [and] the black male then threw victim over the side of the bridge into the water.”
He could feel the water stinging his sliced-up throat. The victim swam towards land, reaching an area where he collapsed from exhaustion. A boater found him, woke him up, and took him to shore. He walked from that location to where he found the first deputy.
The victim denied ever paying the woman for sex, though he acknowledged she brought up the possibility and that the price was $500, documents stated.
“Victim said he never agreed to pay her for any sex, but victim believes by telling her that he was cashing his check on Saturday the female knew that he would be holding a lot of money,” deputies wrote.
Xpress Mart surveillance footage from the night of Oct. 6 showed the victim pulling his van into the parking lot. After they sat in the vehicle for about four minutes, the woman stepped out and the man followed her into the store.
More footage from the night of Oct. 7 showed the same woman getting out of the driver’s side of the van and going into the store to buy drinks, candy, and a cup of ice. The victim is in the back seat while a man sits in the passenger seat.
Deputies challenged the victim on some discrepancies between his story and surveillance footage — for example, he said he picked up the woman, but in the video, she was already in the van on Oct. 6.
“Victim remembered that it was Friday the 6th when victim cashed his check because victim did not work on Saturday,” authorities wrote.
“Victim stated that they went and picked the female up at her house, brought her to the store, gave her $75.00, they went into the store, bought the drinks and then took her home. The rest of the events of what happened on Saturday the 7th is just as the victim gave in the interview at the hospital,” authorities wrote.
Deputies said they did confirm that the victim was with the woman on Oct. 6 and that she drove the van on Oct. 7.
Fonseca and Reynolds are both charged with attempted murder, armed carjacking, armed robbery, and kidnapping. Their arraignments are scheduled for Nov. 17.
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