The trial for a man accused of killing his girlfriend and then dumping her body in the Halifax River is underway in Volusia County.
A key witness took the stand in Thomas Prins’ trial on Tuesday.
That witness may have been the last person to see the victim, Crystal Pifer, alive.
James Wagner testified that Pifer swam to his dingy looking for help on an August night last year, claiming her boyfriend, Prins, was beating her up.
The next morning, she turned up dead in the river.
Wagner said in court he tried to help her.
“What led you to call 911?” asked the prosecutor.
“I yelled out through my center hatch, ‘Do you need help?’ And she yelled back, ‘Yes,’” Wagner said.
Wagner testified that Pifer was terrified of her boyfriend and that she was crying hysterically.
“She comes to your boat, and does she say she was beaten?” asked the prosecutor.
“Yes,” said Wagner.
Wagner added that Pifer’s face was red, mainly on her forehead.
“She (said), ‘He’s punching me in the head and he has hurt my hand,’” said Wagner.
Wagner testified that he could not make out Prins as he kept shining a spotlight in his face, but he did hear him talk to Pifer.
“Did he say anything as he approached your boat?” asked the prosecutor.
Wagner said that Prins said, “Yeah, I got the engine running honey, get back on the boat.”
Pifer eventually did go back with Prins, but Wagner said when the boat went in to the dock he heard Prins yell at Pifer, “Get off my (expletive) boat.”
In a 911 call Prins made, he told a dispatcher that Pifer took his keys and jumped off the boat.
The next morning, Pifer turned up dead in the marina on the Halifax River.
Testimony will continue Wednesday.