Man accused of killing his girlfriend inside their storage shed they used as a makeshift home
A Florida man has been arrested after authorities say he shot and killed his girlfriend early Sunday morning at the storage unit in Jensen Beach where the couple had been living.
Javier Saenz, 43, faces charges of second-degree murder in the shooting death of Tonya Sidebottom.
Sidebottom, 55, was found at her business, Tonya Sidebottom Custom Sewing, with a gunshot wound to the chest around 12:30 a.m., according to the Martin County Sheriff’s Office. She was taken to a hospital, where she later died.
Sheriff John Budensiek said the couple appeared to be experiencing homelessness and explained that they had been staying inside a storage shed at the property where the business was also located. He said Saenz called 911 that morning asking for medical assistance.
“In that conversation, they were trying to figure out what happened and why do you need fire rescue, and he kept saying just send them, send them,” Budensiek said.
“Our fire rescue dispatch could hear a lady screaming in the background, ‘gunshot, gunshot.’ She didn’t say that Saenz shot her, but they can tell there’s a woman in dire stress.”
Sidebottom was conscious when first responders arrived and spoke to paramedics before being transported to the hospital, he said.
“She told them that he waited at least 10 minutes before he even called 911 for our deputies and fire rescue to respond,” Budensiek said.
Although Sidebottom did not name her shooter, Budensiek said Saenz made a self-incriminating remark during the emergency call.
“On our 911 call with fire rescue, fire rescue’s dispatcher asked where you shot our victim, and he said ‘in the chest’, that was his response,” Budensiek said. “Those were his words that implicated him in this incident.”
Saenz has a prior criminal record and was at the center of a temporary risk protection order issued by Port St. Lucie police last year, investigators said.
“He had just had a wrist protection order placed on him last year up in Port St. Lucie,” Budensiek said. “They seized several firearms, three of those firearms were found in the search warrant last night. One of which was the murder weapon.”
A memorial has been placed outside Sidebottom’s sewing business.
“She was a great girl, and I hope she’s remembered as being that,” her friend Chris Ek said, according to WPBF. “Being someone that cared about others and went out of her way to make sure other people were comfortable and had what they needed.”
Her loved ones shared with WPTV that she had recently launched the upholstery business, creating custom furniture for yachts, and was working on getting her life back on track. She was also an advocate for homeless women.
Investigators are still working to determine a motive for the shooting.
Saenz remains in custody at the Martin County Jail.
