TITUSVILLE, Fla. – An arrest has been made in the death of a woman whose body was found floating in the Indian River near Titusville, according to the Brevard County Sheriff's Office.
Lance David Berning, 44, has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in Lake County.
The body of Jennifer Hedges, 24, was found last Thursday by a boater. Deputies said she was beaten to death before her body was dumped in the water.
Deputies said Berning was arrested Friday and is being held without bond, pending extradition to Brevard County.
Berning, who previously resided in Titusville and now lives on Hawaiian Way in Leesburg, picked up Hedges in Titusville and drove her to a remote area where the two engaged in a sexual relationship, according to deputies.
Deputies said the encounter turned violent, with Berning killing Hedges and disposing of her body in the Indian River.
Nicole Herndon spoke for Hedges' family Friday night. She said the family is grateful to law enforcement.
The family said Hedges was not a bad person. The family said she was ready to start a new chapter in her life and she was on a waiting list to get into a drug rehab facility.
"I just want to say that my daughter was a beautiful girl and recently got into what she was doing," Jennifer Hedges' mother, Sherry Hedges, said in a statement. "This doesn't make her any less of a person. She was lost and confused. She was still a mother, a daughter, a grand daughter, a sister and a very beautiful person. Please do not judge her for her lifestyle. She was on a waiting list for treatment. It just didn't happen soon enough."
Hedges leaves behind her 5-year-old son, Skylar. Her sister is now going to raise him.
Hedges was from Titusville, deputies said. No arrangements have been made for Hedges' funeral.
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