Woman rescues struggling swimmer then learns he’s a double murder suspect

3 hours ago

WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News Staff,

VERO BEACH, Fla. (WPBF) – A Florida woman rushed into the ocean to rescue a struggling swimmer, but as it turns out, that swimmer is a double murder suspect on the run.

Courtesy of Vero Beach Police Department

A woman named Belinda was out for a morning walk on March 24 near Riomar Beach in Vero Beach, Florida, when she heard a man screaming for help from the ocean.

“I could hear a faint ‘help, help, help,’” Belinda said. “I looked and seen someone going like this, like they were in distress.”

She said she ran into the water and told the struggling swimmer to get on his back and let the waves carry him.

“So, he got on his back, and he said, ‘I’m exhausted. I’m tired.’ I said, ‘Do it! Get on your back and stay on your back. Let the waves carry you. You can do it. Come on,’” she said.

Video released by Vero Beach Police shows Belinda stooping beside the man on shore after he made it out of the water.

“I said, ‘Are you all right?’” she said. “And he said, ‘No, I’m exhausted. I would never go out that far again’… And he said, ‘I think I’m going to take a long vacation.’”

Police now believe that man was double homicide suspect Jesse Ellis. Ellis is accused of fatally shooting his estranged wife, Stacie Mason, and her romantic partner, Danny Ooley. Both were Indian River County employees who worked for the public works department.

Belinda said she had no idea at the time that the man she helped was a homicide suspect, but she said even after learning who he was, she still believes she would have helped him. Though, she also said she would have handled the situation differently and called 911 right away.