A woman visiting a Florida beach saved a struggling swimmer from certain death, only to learn that he’s a double murder suspect.
The woman, identified only as Belinda, told local station WPBF that she was out on a morning walk at Vero Beach on the morning of March 24 when she heard a man shouting for help.
Belinda then ran into the ocean and told the struggling swimmer, a male, to get on his back so the waves would carry him to shore.
“So, he got on his back, and he said, ‘I’m exhausted, I’m tired,'” she recalled. “And I said, ‘Do it! Get on your back and let the waves carry you, you can do it, come on.'”
The man eventually made it back to shore, after which he vowed he was “going to take a long vacation.”
Belinda has since learned that the man, 64-year-old Jesse Ellis, is a suspect in a double homicide that occurred earlier that morning.
She told WPBF that she’d still save him if she could do things again, but that she’d do so by calling 911 right away.
“I could not leave him in the water no matter what,” she noted. “Everybody is going through something.”
Ellis is suspected of killing his wife, Stacie Mason, and her love interest, Danny Ooley.
During a March 25 press conference, Vero Beach Police Chief David Currey alleged that Ellis gunned down Mason, his wife of 13 years, and Ooley at a downtown library parking lot around 7:00 am on March 24.
According to Currey, Ellis opened fire as the two, both of them employees with Indian River County, were seated in Ooley’s car. He then fled to the beach and reportedly walked into the ocean “fully clothed.”
Currey also revealed that Ellis and Mason had been in a state of separation and leaning toward divorce in the past few months.
As of the morning of April 9, Ellis still remained on the loose.
SEARCH CONTINUES | New evidence, including wet clothing and a suicide note, surfaces as Vero Beach police hunt for a double homicide suspect. CBS12’s Al Pefley has the story.
Read more: https://t.co/24WJl0FETn pic.twitter.com/MOMIFtbjGk— WPEC CBS12 News (@CBS12) March 27, 2026
All this comes in the wake of another possible murder in the Bahamas. As previously reported, Michigan woman Lynette Hooker, 55, went missing at sea after she allegedly fell off her and her husband’s dinghy while they were headed back to their yacht in the Bahamas.
“According to preliminary information, a male complainant reported that he and his wife, both U.S. nationals, departed Hope Town around 7:30 pm aboard an 8-foot hard-bottom dinghy en route to Elbow City,” the Royal Bahamas Police Force reported in a press release.
“During the journey, his wife reportedly fell overboard with the boat keys, causing the vessel’s engine to shut off. Strong currents subsequently carried her away, and he lost sight of her. He then paddled the vessel to shore,” the press release continued.
The husband has been identified as Brian Hooker, 58.
Hooker’s daughter and mother remain hopeful for a “positive” ending, but have many, many questions, as does the public.
“I have been privy to very little information,” Hooker’s daughter, Karli Aylesworth, added. “My sole concern is to find out what happened to my mother and make sure a full and complete investigation is performed into her disappearance.”
Speaking separately with Fox News, Aylesworth alleged that Brian, whom she’s not related to, had been violent and abusive with her mother.
“I do believe something might have happened to her,” she added. “There’s history of them choking her out and threatening to throw her overboard. So the fact that this is actually happening makes me believe there’s more to the story.”
According to Aylesworth, Brian’s anger issues would manifest while he was drinking.
“He starts to act more smart-assy and more picking at you and like ‘I know this will irritate you, so I’m gonna do that,’” she explained.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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