MANATEE COUNTY, Fla. – A Holmes Beach man is charged with attempted first-degree murder of his wife while they were on a boat 33 miles offshore.
According to an arrest affidavit from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, Douglas Naeher, 60, and his wife decided to take their boat out on a fishing trip on Sunday, July 20.
What we know:
While making their way to their destination, the victim said her husband “seemed off” and appeared to be angry.
The victim told authorities when they reached their destination, Naeher started fishing but soon became mad because his fishing line was snapping.
The victim told detectives to avoid an altercation, she decided to get in the water and float on a pool noodle.
The woman said while floating, she held on to a rope that was tied to the boat. She said at some point, Naeher untied the rope, put the boat in gear and took off without her.
“She didn’t understand why that was happening,” said Melissa Conway with MCSO.
Dig deeper:
The victim said she felt her husband was leaving her there to die. She said she noticed another boat in the distance and thought that prompted her husband to come back for her.
She said she climbed onto the boat and that her husband began to repeatedly punch her in the head. She said he stomped on her head several times. The woman said she went in and out of consciousness.
“He starts becoming very angry and punching her and stomping on her. He eventually takes her to the side of the boat and puts her in the water and tries to choke her,” said Conway.
Courtesy: Manatee County Sheriff’s Office
The victim said she pretended to be dead, in hopes it would stop him from attacking her. She said it was at that point that Naeher dragged her by the hair to the rear of the boat and dumped her in the water. She said as he was doing this he said, “I’m going to (expletive) kill you.”
“At some point they say fight or flight kicks in. Thankfully for her, her instincts did help her in this situation. Thinking to kind of go limp in this situation so he’d stop beating her,” said Conway.
The victim said Naeher once again left her in the water and started to drive off. She said she was able to interlock her feet around the ladder at the rear of the boat and hold on.
The defendant dragged the victim behind the boat for a short time before stopping, according to the arrest affidavit.
The victim got back in the boat again and said her husband continued to punch and stomp on her head. She said he then dragged her to the back of the boat again, and pushed her overboard.
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Officials say the woman saw a rope dangling from the rear of the boat and wrapped it around her ankle just as Naeher started to drive away again.
The woman said she was dragged behind the boat for several minutes before she was able to pull herself up again and get back into the rear of the boat.
When Naeher saw that she was back on the boat, she said he went to the back of the boat, with it still in gear, and started to beat her again.
As they got closer to shore, the victim said Naeher went back to the controls of the boat as he needed to navigate through the canal that led to their dock.
As the boat slowed, the victim said she jumped onto the dock and ran to the Holmes Beach Police Department, which is a short distance from their home.
Not long after, police said Naeher could be seen on a surveillance camera taking off from the area in his truck.
The victim was taken to the hospital to be treated for her injuries. She suffered a concussion and had multiple contusions. Police said her head and face were swollen, and her right eye was swollen shut.
“She’s very lucky she’s still alive today,” said Conway.
What’s next:
Naeher was eventually found and taken into custody. He is being held without bond.
Officials did not say what sparked Naeher to behave the way he did.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by an arrest affidavit from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office.
