A woman found with a gunshot wound in a Vero Beach roadway has died, and the Indian River County Sheriff's Office has opened a homicide investigation. Deputies are now asking anyone who spots 33-year-old Matthew Allen Waggle, identified as a person of interest in the case, to call 911 immediately and not approach him.
911 Call Led Deputies to First Street
According to WPBF, 911 dispatch received a call Sunday reporting a woman lying in a roadway in Indian River County. Deputies arrived at 501 First Street in Vero Beach and found the woman suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. They began life-saving measures before she was transported to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead.
The sheriff's office has not released the woman's identity, and her death has now been designated a homicide. The agency has not said what relationship, if any, she had to Waggle, and that detail remains unknown. Florida's public records law allows investigators to withhold active criminal investigative details while a case is ongoing, which helps explain why so much about the victim and the circumstances of her death has not yet been made public.
Deputies Warn Public Not to Approach Person of Interest
The sheriff's office has advised the public to contact 911 immediately if they see Waggle and has specifically asked people not to approach him or attempt to make contact if they know his whereabouts. Investigators have also asked anyone with information about the case to reach out to the sheriff's office directly. No arrest warrant or formal charges had been publicly disclosed as of the initial report.
Court records reviewed by The News and Sentinel show a Matthew Allen Waggle, then 23, pleaded guilty in Wood County Magistrate Court in West Virginia in January 2016 to a misdemeanor charge of making harassing communications by computer. It is not clear from available records whether that case involves the same Matthew Allen Waggle now identified as a person of interest in Vero Beach.
A Rare Violent Crime for Indian River County
Homicides remain uncommon in Indian River County. The county recorded just four murders in 2021 alongside 109 aggravated assaults, part of a total of 1,224 index crimes that year, according to Florida Department of Law Enforcement data — a rate lower than the state average. Community crime data compiled by Niche gives Vero Beach an overall “B minus” crime rating, with assault and robbery rates well below national averages.
The Indian River County Sheriff's Office, which serves as the primary law enforcement agency for unincorporated areas like the First Street location where the woman was found, has a strong track record on homicide cases. National law enforcement scorecard data shows the agency solved 20 of 22 recorded homicides between 2013 and 2025, a clearance rate higher than 87% of tracked sheriff's departments nationwide.
This is not the only major homicide investigation to shake Vero Beach this year. In March, two Indian River County employees were shot and killed in a library parking lot, touching off a multi-month search that ended only in May when the suspect's remains were found, according to Vero News.
What Comes Next
If the investigation eventually leads to murder charges, Florida law draws a sharp distinction between degrees of homicide. Under Florida Statute § 782.04, first-degree murder is a capital felony punishable by life imprisonment without parole or the death penalty, while second-degree murder is a first-degree felony carrying up to life in prison. Should prosecutors pursue capital charges and seek the death penalty, state law requires the state attorney to file formal notice of aggravating factors within 45 days of arraignment.
For now, the sheriff's office has not identified the victim, confirmed a motive, or disclosed whether any charges have been filed against Waggle. The investigation is ongoing, and officials say they will release additional details as the case develops.
