INDIAN RIVER COUNTY, Fla. — A man accused of fatally shooting a 52-year-old Vero Beach woman was taken into custody Wednesday night by U.S. Marshals at a motel near Dunbar, West Virginia, following a days-long investigation, the Indian River County Sheriff's Office announced Thursday.
WATCH BELOW: Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers gives update on Vero Beach homicide arrest
Matthew Allen Waggle, 33, of Sebastian, faces a first-degree murder charge in connection with the death of Dawn Kriskewic. Detectives are working to extradite him to Indian River County.
At approximately 8:41 a.m. Sunday, the sheriff's office received a 911 call reporting a woman in the roadway in the 500 block of 1st Street. Deputies located Kriskewic with an apparent gunshot wound and began life-saving measures. She was transported to a trauma center, where she was later pronounced dead. Investigators are treating her death as a domestic violence homicide.
Sheriff Eric Flowers said investigators believe Waggle and Kriskewic were in an on-and-off relationship and that Waggle fled the area in a vehicle following the shooting. The sheriff's office said Kriskewic was a hairdresser in Vero Beach.
"She had actually told her co-workers, 'If he calls, if he shows up, I want nothing to do with him. Tell him, I'm not here,'" Flowers said during Thursday's news conference. "She had broken things off with him, he had moved away and somehow she knew that he could potentially be coming to the area and she had been telling her co-workers she wanted nothing to do with him, and that things were over; and he came here to kill her."
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According to the sheriff, Waggle traveled by Greyhound bus to the Orlando area, then took an Uber directly to the victim's home.
"You see that video of him walking, he was dropped off around the corner, he made his way in, we've got him on video, on Ring doorbells, on a variety of different security cameras," Flowers said. "He walked to the residence, they had a brief interaction, he shot her and then he fled that area."
Flowers said Waggle was at the location for approximately 10 to 15 minutes before leaving the area. Waggle then took another Uber back to Orlando, boarded a Greyhound to North Carolina, and ultimately made his way to the motel in West Virginia.
Investigators said Waggle left the firearm used in the shooting and other items of evidence near the scene. The gun was later determined to belong to Waggle's ex-wife.
"Waggle's ex-wife in West Virginia was helping him. We're working through what extent she was helping him and what her situation is," Flowers said.
Detectives and crime scene personnel processed the scene outside Kriskewic's home.
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Flowers said the sheriff's office's real-time crime center played a key role in tracking Waggle's whereabouts. Investigators determined that Waggle's ex-wife was making calls to a specific motel, which helped lead authorities to him. The ex-wife was taken into custody at the motel and led investigators to Waggle inside the hotel.
"At this moment, we don't have charges on her, but we are actively speaking with her," Flowers said.
The sheriff credited the department's use of license plate reader technology — including the Flock system — as critical to the arrest.
"I'm not standing here four days later telling you about this guy being in custody in West Virginia," Flowers said. "So, for everybody who wants to talk about how bad this system is, we got a murderer behind bars because of this. We got this guy off the streets, because of the Flock system."
Flowers also praised his team's work throughout the investigation.
"Our team has worked relentlessly, nonstop for the last couple days," Flowers said. "We went from Sunday morning at 9 a.m. having a body in the road in South County, us never encountering this lady before, not knowing who she is. To Wednesday night, we're making an arrest in West Virginia. I mean, that's just unbelievable police work on part of our team."
Two detectives were in West Virginia speaking with Waggle and his ex-wife at the time of the announcement. Flowers said Waggle will be extradited back to Indian River County on the first-degree murder charge.
Read more of WPTV's coverage below:
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