Trial Underway For Man Charged With Murdering Girlfriend & Tossing Her Body In The Halifax

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Criminal Trial Volusia County, FL-A jury trial is underway for a man accused of killing his 28-year-old girlfriend. Crystal Pifer's body was found floating near the Seven Seas Marina on August 12, 2015. Police arrested 43-year-old Thomas Prins, charging him with first-degree murder. Pifer told another boater her boyfriend was beating her up that night in August, according to records. She was last seen alive on Prins' boat. Pifer was last seen alive shortly before 11 p.m. on Aug. 11 when she jumped off Prins' boat into the Halifax River. According to a Volusia County sheriff's dispatch report, she swam to someone else's boat nearby seeking help. The man onboard called 911 and reported the incident. He got in a dinghy and was rowing her to shore but after realizing the man had to leave his daughter behind, Pifer jumped out of the dinghy. The report states that the man saw her get on board and then everything went dark and silent. Eight hours later, a boater found Pifer's body near the Seven Seas Marina in the 3300 block of South Peninsula Drive. The boater told police the body was topless, wearing jean shorts and had what appeared to be bruises on the shoulders. She had been badly beaten and strangled. The trial continues on Wednesday with more testimony. Prins faces life in prison if convicted. Thomas Prins

(Photo courtesy of Volusia County Jail)

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