She jumped off a hotel balcony to get away from abusive boyfriend, Florida Keys police say
A Florida Keys woman jumped off a second-story motel balcony Tuesday night to get away from her boyfriend, who she said was trying to attack her, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.
The alleged domestic abuse happened at the Bay View Inn and Marina on Conch Key, in the Middle Florida Keys, around 10:30 p.m.
The 20-year-old woman, who the Miami Herald/FLKeysnews.com is not naming because she is a possible victim of domestic abuse, told Deputy Victor Cristea that her boyfriend, Erik Brown, 36, pulled her to the ground by the hair and hit her into the concrete floor.
She told deputies Brown had been drinking with friends that evening, and she asked if she could speak to him alone. During the conversation, she walked away from him, which made him angry, she told deputies, according to the report.
Brown said to the woman, according to the report, “B__h, if I tell you to come, you listen,” before he attacked her. Cristea said the woman had a visible bump on her head.
She then ran upstairs to the balcony. Brown chased after her, and she jumped, according to the report. Deputies stated that she had cuts and scratches on her thighs and knuckles from the fall.
A friend of Brown’s helped her up, which enraged him, and the two men fought, witnesses told deputies.
A couple who met the alleged victim earlier in the day drove up to the motel just as she jumped off the balcony. The alleged victim ran toward the woman, Erin Efstathion, and said Brown was trying to kill her.
Efstathion got in between Brown and the woman and pulled her phone out to call 911. Brown snatched the phone and threw it against Efstathion’s SUV, Cristea said. She told deputies he threatened to kill her for “interfering” with his property.
According to the report, the victim told deputies Brown owns the motel. The Miami Herald could not immediately verify that information.
Efstathion was able to retrieve her phone, get the victim into her car and drive to her house in nearby Duck Key, where she called police, Cristea said.
When deputies arrived at the Bayview Inn to question Brown, they saw him leaving the dock on his boat, the Sea Fox.
He was arrested around 1:30 a.m. Wednesday when he returned to the dock.
Brown was still in county jail Wednesday afternoon with no bond information immediately available. He faces multiple felony charges, including two counts of battery, robbery, criminal mischief and obstruction.
Brown had a brush with fame as a crew member on the reality show, Deadliest Catch, on the Discovery Channel, which chronicles commercial crab fishing in Alaska.
This story was originally published June 10, 2020 at 4:00 PM.
