NEED TO KNOW
- A Florida man was arrested this week after he was accused of attempting to murder his wife while they were on a boat 33 miles off the coast
- Douglas Scott Naeher was taken into custody on July 21
- Per police documents, he allegedly tried to leave his wife at sea only to return and attack her multiple times before she was able to get to safety
A Florida man was arrested and charged with attempted first-degree murder and domestic battery after being accused of trying to kill his wife while they were out on a boat.
Douglas Scott Naeher was arrested on Monday, July 21, according to reporting by local outlet ABC7.
According to a probable cause affidavit from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, Naeher went out on the water with his wife of three years on Sunday, July 20. They departed around 7 a.m. that morning, and the victim said that her husband’s “demeanor seemed off,” saying that he “was not as talkative as usual and appeared to be angry.”
They stopped their boat roughly 33 miles off the coast of Bean Point, an area 57 miles south of Tampa, and the man began fishing. However, he was “irate” after his line snapped, according to the legal documents.
“To avoid an altercation,” the wife said that she got into the water and removed herself from the situation. While floating on a pool noodle, she said that she was holding onto a rope attached to the boat.
However, per the affidavit, she noticed that Naeher “untied the rope, put the boat in gear and drove off without her.” The woman said that she was afraid “he was leaving her out there to die.”
According to the document, another boat was seen in the area. The victim, whose name was not released, said that she believed it prompted Naeher to return for her. However, after she got back on the boat, he “began repeatedly punching her on the right side of her head. He then stomped on her head with both feet numerous times.”
She said that she lost consciousness several times during the attack and decided to play dead.
“She tried to slow her breathing and remain motionless so the defendant would stop hitting her,” the document claims. However, he then allegedly “dragged her by her hair to the rear of the boat and into the water.”
While attempting to strangle her in the water, he was accused of saying, “I’m going to f—— kill you.”
With the other boat still approaching, the victim said she was left in the water as Naeher attempted to drive off, per the affidavit. However, she linked her feet around the ladder and held on. When the boat stopped, she got back onboard only to be attacked and thrown off again. This time she grabbed a rope, which she attached to her right ankle.
Naeher reportedly noticed that she was trailing behind and continued to fight her. However, she was able to get away when their boat returned to their dock. After running to the Holmes Beach Police Department around 1:37 p.m., the victim was treated at Blake Hospital.
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Per the documents, she had a concussion and “multiple contusions.” Additionally, “her head and face were swollen, and her right eye was completely swollen shut.”
Naeher was seen leaving the area in his pickup truck. He was arrested the following day.
PEOPLE reached out to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office for comment.
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