FL Man Charged With Murder In Girlfriend's Death Caused By Brutal Beating

BRADENTON, FL — After a months-long investigation, a Bradenton man was arrested Wednesday night and charged in the April death of his girlfriend, the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Roger Villasana, 33, was charged with second-degree murder in the death of 34-year-old Yassmin Montoya.

Deputies responded to a 911 call reporting an unconscious woman, later identified as Montoya, in a car on 30th Avenue East in Bradenton on the morning of April 8 around 8 a.m.

EMS found Montoya unresponsive with significant injuries, including severe facial swelling, in the passenger seat of a black Dodge Charger, the sheriff’s office said. She was brought to Blake Hospital as a trauma alert.

She suffered a traumatic brain injury, facial fractures and other extensive internal injuries, and died while hospitalized on April 11.

The medical examiner ruled her death a homicide on April 14, “citing blunt-force trauma to the head and face consistent with a prolonged, forceful physical assault,” the sheriff’s office said.

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An investigation by the MCSO Domestic Violence Unit revealed inconsistencies in Villasana’s initial claims that Montoya had been attacked by unknown suspects in Sarasota.

Surveillance footage from the Golden Host Resort/Bahi Hut at 4675 North Tamiami Trail in Sarasota showed Montoya with no injuries upon arrival but captured a violent altercation between the couple later that night, investigators said.

Footage showed Villasana forcibly dragging Montoya back into their hotel room after she attempted to run from him, MCSO said. Minutes later, she was seen visibly injured and unable to walk without assistance.

Cell phone data, license plate reader records and video evidence confirmed the couple never visited the area where Villasana claimed the alleged attack occurred, the sheriff’s office said. There also were no witnesses or evidence that supported his account.