Dawn Kriskewic, 52, was found suffering from an apparent gunshot wound in the 500 block of First Street near her Vero Beach home on Aug. 16, according to the Indian River County Sheriff's Office. Emergency medical personnel transported her to a local hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Background
Kriskewic and Matthew Allen Waggle had been involved in an on-and-off romantic relationship that Kriskewic recently ended, Sheriff Eric Flowers said during a Thursday news conference. Prior to the killing, Kriskewic took precautions to protect herself from her former partner.
"She had actually told her co-workers, 'If he calls, if he shows up, I want nothing to do with him. Tell him, I'm not here,'" Flowers said. "She had broken things off with him, he had moved away and somehow she knew that he could potentially be coming to the area."
Despite Kriskewic's warnings to her coworkers about wanting nothing to do with Waggle, investigators allege he traveled from West Virginia to Florida in the days following the killing.
The Investigation
Investigators quickly identified Waggle as a person of interest and obtained a warrant for his arrest on Aug. 19. A nationwide alert was issued as authorities searched for the suspected killer.
Sheriff Flowers detailed the alleged movements of Waggle leading up to and following Kriskewic's death:
"You see that video of him walking, he was dropped off around the corner, he made his way in, we've got him on video, on Ring doorbells, on a variety of different security cameras," Flowers said.
According to investigators, Waggle traveled from West Virginia to Florida by Greyhound bus, then took a rideshare to Kriskewic's Vero Beach home on Sunday morning. Surveillance footage captured him approaching the residence and briefly interacting with Kriskewic before allegedly shooting her.
"He was there for 10, 15 minutes tops. He murdered her in cold blood in the street," the sheriff said.
After the killing, authorities allege Waggle took an Uber back to Orlando, boarded a Greyhound bus to North Carolina, and eventually traveled to West Virginia, where he was apprehended Wednesday night at a Super 8 motel in Dunbar by members of a U.S. Marshals Service task force.
Investigators learned that Waggle's ex-wife had been making calls to the Super 8 motel prior to his arrest. She was taken into custody and is cooperating with investigators, Flowers said. Authorities recovered a firearm near the scene of the shooting that was traced back to Waggle's ex-wife.
"At this moment, we don't have charges on her, but we are actively speaking with her," the sheriff noted.
Key Takeaways
- Dawn Kriskewic, 52, was shot and killed outside her Vero Beach home on Aug. 16
- Matthew Allen Waggle, 33, has been charged with one count of first-degree murder
- Kriskewic had warned coworkers to tell Waggle she wanted "nothing to do with him" if he showed up
- Waggle allegedly traveled from West Virginia to Florida by Greyhound bus before the killing
- He was captured on surveillance video approaching Kriskewic's home and allegedly shooting her in the street
- Authorities tracked his movements using Real Time Crime Center technology, surveillance cameras, and license plate readers
What's Next
Waggle remains in detention at the South Central Regional Jail in West Virginia pending extradition to Florida. It was not immediately clear when he was scheduled to appear in court on the first-degree murder charge.