ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County deputies have arrested a man they say broke into a disabled woman’s home and killed her primary caretaker before robbing and assaulting her as well.
Alexander Martinez-Perez, 42, faces charges that include murder, attempted murder and burglary for the death of 69-year-old Jon Payne in late June.
The investigation started June 22 with a hit-and-run crash at the intersection of North Semoran Blvd. and Lake Underhill Road.
The crash victim provided Orlando police officers with a picture of the suspect vehicle’s license plate, leading them to an address on Cascade Oaks Drive that was registered with the vehicle.
Read: Florida sheriff warns he will deputize gun owners to counter protesters
When they arrived at the home, police found Payne deceased outside, and a second surviving victim Payne cared for who was confined to a bed.
The surviving victim, who wasn’t identified, explained to detectives how Payne had gone to check on a noise they heard at the home’s rear glass door when she heard him yelling for someone to leave.
She assumed the person had gone when the yelling stopped but then saw the suspect, now identified as Martinez-Perez, break the glass door and enter the home.
That’s when she says Martinez-Perez assaulted her with a box cutter and repeatedly threatened to kill her as he walked through the home collecting items, before taking her medical alert necklace, grabbing her cell phone, and leaving in her vehicle.
Deputies were able to identify Martinez-Perez by matching surveillance video from the home to body camera footage from a deputy who recognized him from an encounter on the previous day.
They were also able to collect fingerprints from items in the home he was seen touching in the surveillance video.