COCOA, Fla. – A man is locked up in Brevard County after deputies say he tried to strangle a jogger with the plan of keeping the victim’s body stored in his bedroom closet.
Deputies arrested Logan Smith, 18, near his home in the 7400 block of Batavia Ave. Monday.
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According to investigators, Smith laid out a bedsheet in his driveway and then hid behind a light pole along Batavia Avenue with a waist belt from a robe. Deputies said Smith had also put an aerosol can of Axe body spray and a rubber mallet near the pole.
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When the victim ran by, Smith came up behind the man and wrapped the waist belt around the jogger’s neck, according to probable cause affidavit.
Smith yanked on the belt and began to choke the victim, however, deputies said the victim used his martial arts training to free himself and subdue the 18-year-old until law enforcement could arrive.
The victim told deputies he had never met Smith or even seen him before, adding he ran through the area several times a week.
Deputies said when they questioned Smith, he admitted to trying to strangle the victim. Smith said he had planned to drag the man into the driveway and then use the bed sheet to aid him in getting the jogger into his bedroom, records show.
Investigators said Smith had been watching the jogger for some time, learning his patterns. Smith admitted he wanted to have the victim’s body “all to himself,” the affidavit reads, and that he planned to fulfill sexual fantasies with the body.
When questioned about the mallet and body spray, Smith told deputies that he had planned to spray the deodorant in the victim’s eyes and strike the victim with the mallet, but was “unlucky” because the jogger was able to overpower him, records show.
Smith said he decided to try to kill the jogger after he had been watching a movie that featured acts of violence.
He is locked up without bond, facing a charge of attempted murder.