Florida Woman Rescues Drowning Man, Then Finds Out He’s Accused of Double Murder

A Florida woman was shocked when she realized that the man she had saved from drowning was a suspect in a double murder case. The incident happened on March 24 when Vero Beach native Belinda was walking along Riomar Beach.

When she heard someone screaming, she noticed a man crying for help as he was struggling in the ocean. Belinda then ran toward the man and asked him to lie on his back so that the waves could carry him back to the shore.

Talking about the incident, Belinda said in an interview with WPBF 25 News, “So, he got on his back, and he said, ‘I'm exhausted, I'm tired,’ and I said, ‘Do it! Get on your back and let the waves carry you, you can do it, come on.’”

Belinda’s suggestion worked, and the man was able to make it out of the ocean. “I said, ‘Are you all right?’ And he said, ‘No, I’m exhausted. I would never go out that far again’… And he said, ‘I think I’m going to take a long vacation,’” she recalled. However, Belinda later learned that the man had been accused of murdering his wife and her alleged lover earlier that morning.

Police identified him as 64-year-old Jesse Ellis. According to the authorities, Ellis murdered Stacie Mason, his wife of 13 years, and her lover, Danny Ooley. Surveillance footage obtained by the police showed Mason, 49, and Ooley, 56, arriving at a local library in their cars at around 7 AM on March 24.

Mason then joined Ooley in his car. Ellis soon reached the scene and fired multiple shots at Ooley’s vehicle from his AR-15-style rifle. Both victims died of gunshot wounds. The two worked together at the Indian River County Public Works Department.

Before Belinda found him, Ellis had allegedly made another attempt to take his own life. Shortly after the shooting, a witness saw him walking into the ocean at South Beach. The witness called 911, and the fire rescue arrived at the scene.

First responders found Ellis swimming some 900 yards off shore. At the time, they were not aware that Ellis had been accused of homicide. Ellis gave a false name to fire officials and told them he did not need help, as he knew how to swim.

As a result, the officials decided to leave him in the ocean and returned. Indian River County Fire Chief David Johnson addressed this decision during a press conference and said, “You cannot kidnap someone just because they're doing what they want to do in a public place. He was awake and alert. He was out swimming.”

Investigators later found Ellis’s truck near South Beach the same afternoon. The truck contained his wet clothes, a 380-caliber magazine, and a holster. Police also found notes suggesting that Ellis was willing to harm himself.

The accused is now facing charges of two counts of first-degree premeditated murder. However, he is still missing, and it is unclear whether he tried to take his life once again after Belinda saved him.

Meanwhile, Belinda said that had she known about Ellis’s crimes, she would still have saved his life but reported him to the police. “I could not leave him in the water, no matter what. Everybody is going through something,” she explained.