Woman takes off clothes, jumps into bay with 3-year-old nephew, police say

MIAMI — A Florida woman is accused of jumping into Miami’s Biscayne Bay while holding her 3-year-old nephew and taking off her clothes after police arrived, authorities said.

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Natalia Marina, 27, was arrested on Thursday and charged with criminal mischief, child abuse and resisting arrest, according to Miami-Dade County online court records.

According to an arrest report, Marina was caught on surveillance camera destroying a floodlight in Brickell Park, the Miami Herald reported.

A Miami police officer responding to the scene spotted Marina, a child and a woman later identified as the suspect’s sister, according to the newspaper. When he attempted to stop them, the two women and the child jumped into Biscayne Bay, WSVN-TV reported.

Investigators said that Marina, who was holding her nephew, swam from Brickell Park to nearby Brickell Key, according to the television station.

Jessica DeCristofaro said she was walking her dog when she saw the trio and took cellphone video of Marina swimming with the child in her arms.

“The child was actually like going -- it seemed like the child was going underwater, so I got a little concerned,” DeCristofaro told WSVN.

Police said Marina took her clothes off after officers responded, the Herald reported.

“I guess, when the police came, she took all of her clothes off and started throwing them at the police,” DeCristofaro told WSVN.

The Miami Police Marine Patrol unit and officers responded quickly and Marina and the child were pulled from the water, WFOR-TV reported.

The child was returned to their mother. Marina was taken to an area hospital for a physical and emotional evaluation, the Herald reported.

Video posted to social media by Only in Dade showed responding police officers in a boat attempting to bring Marina and the child into the boat.

“Once the officers got there, they made contact with her and she actually began swishing the officers away, taking off her clothes,” Miami police Capt. Freddie Cruz told reporters, according to WSVN. “That was very disturbing. If you see the video, you see the child crying. There’s nothing normal about this.”

On Friday, Marina appeared in felony bond court, online records show. Bail was set at $5,000 and a judge issued a stay-away order from her nephew, according to WSVN.

“The baby’s OK, thank God. And he’s back with his mom,” Kiara Delva, a Miami police spokesperson, told the Herald.