VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — The Volusia County man accused of killing his girlfriend and dumping her body in the Halifax River faced a judge Wednesday.
Crystal Pifer’s mother and father waited two months for an arrest in the death of their daughter.
They sat in court Wednesday as Thomas Prins looked at them after facing a judge who read him his first-degree murder charge.
“He looked over at me and I can’t believe he looked right at me. I’d love to have said something to him,” said the victim’s father, Fred Campagnuolo.
When Pifer’s body was found floating in a Port Orange marina in August, her parents said Prins lied to them about what happened.
The day she disappeared, police in South Daytona said Pifer swam from Prins after he beat her up.
She escaped to a stranger’s boat, but as the man was paddling her to shore, she jumped into the water and back to Prins’ boat.
The man last saw Pifer arguing with Prins before having to tend to his child on his boat.
“We thought he was a nice guy and he really did fool us. Not knowing about the domestic abuse; they hid it pretty well. We didn’t know about it,” said Pifer’s mother, Laurie Campagnuolo.
Over the last several weeks, investigators have been trying to collect enough evidence to arrest Prins on murder charges.
This week, a warrant went out for his arrest and Ormond Beach police found Prins doing yard work in a neighborhood.
“They promised me that they would get justice. That they took it personally and they were going to help us,” said Fred Campagnuolo.
Pifer’s family is still waiting to find out exactly how she died.
No cause of death has been released.
Prins was denied bond.