A man suspected of killing his ex-wife was arrested in Palm Coast Monday morning after crashing his car near the Hammock Dunes Bridges, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office confirmed. He later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The murder occurred in Deltona at around 2:22 am and the manhunt concluded with the suspect’s arrest at around 5:15 am.
According to information from the Volusia Sheriff’s Office, 38-year-old Ashley Vaia was found dead by her child in the early hours of Monday morning at their residence on Parma Drive in Deltona. The suspect in her murder is 33-year-old Samuel Vaia, who allegedly led law enforcement on a multi-county chase in his white Range Rover SUV.
Deadly Highway Chase
The VSO identified Vaia’s SUV traveling north on I-95 at over 100 miles per hour, quickly making its way toward Flagler County. The VSO’s Air One helicopter was deployed along with several units from multiple law enforcement agencies. With the assistance of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, stop sticks were deployed as the vehicle traveled toward Palm Harbor Pkwy and Hammock Dunes Pkwy in Palm Coast.
Upon hitting the stop sticks, Vaia reportedly crashed and flipped over. With its tires punctured, it was said to have crashed through the barrier on the Hammock Dunes toll bridge and finally came to rest near the edge of the bridge in the grass. As he was considered to be armed and dangerous and wearing body armor, the FCSO’s SWAT team responded to the scene.
The airbags were deployed inside Vaia’s vehicle, making it difficult for law enforcement to get a clear view inside. Drone units were deployed by the VSO to get a better look inside the SUV, and by 5:15 am the FCSO SWAT team was able to extract Vaia. While inside, he had apparently shot himself in the head. Vaia was rushed to AdventHealth Palm Coast for treatment, where was pronounced dead from his injuries.
Before the Murder
Vaia’s mugshot from last week. ⓒ Volusia County Branch Jail
The Volusia Sheriff’s Office provided further information giving a background on the relationship between Samuel and Ashley Vaia before the apparent murder-suicide on Monday. On March 23rd, Samuel Vaia reportedly battered Ashley after a dispute in which he accused her of cheating on him. He was said to have pushed her into the bathroom and closed the door. He’d also taken her phone away during the altercation, and she reportedly yelled to the phone to call 911 in an attempt to use voice-activated emergency protocol. Samuel is said to have tried covering her mouth, but ultimately left after being found by one of the couple’s kids.
VSO deputies said Ashley told them they were still trying to salvage the relationship, and that he still had a key to the house. He was arrested by the VSO on a battery charge before being released the following day on $2,000 bond. Vaia has one other arrest on file in Volusia County, for burglary, petty theft, and loitering back in December 2009.
Volusia and Flagler Sheriffs React
Sheriff Rick Staly (left) on-scene at the crash. ⓒ Flagler County Sheriff’s Office
“Our hearts go out to Ashley’s children, and all her family and friends who have to deal with losing her to such a senseless act of violence,” said Volusia Sheriff Mike Chitwood. “Time and time again, we see that domestic violence situations can escalate quickly and dangerously, with tragic consequences.”
“I am thankful for the swift actions of our deputies in helping to prevent any further loss of life,” said Flagler Sheriff Rick Staly, who was on-scene at the chase’s conclusion Monday morning. “This is a deeply tragic incident for all involved, and we send our condolences to the victim’s family during this extremely difficult time.”
Resources
Several resources are available for those experiencing domestic abuse and violence as well as sexual assault and child abuse both in Volusia and Flagler counties and around the state and country.
- Council on Aging of Volusia County (420 Fentress Blvd, Daytona Beach, FL 32114)
- Phone: (386) 253-4700
- Domestic Abuse Council of Volusia County (3889 W Int’l Speedway Blvd, Daytona Beach, FL 32124)
- Hotline (24/7 text or call): (386) 255-2102
- Phone: (386) 257-2297
- Website: www.dacvolusia.com
- Family Life Center (4721 Moody Blvd #503, Bunnell, FL 32110)
- Flagler Domestic Violence Helpline: (386) 437-3505
- Flagler Sexual Assault Helpline: (866) 456-4357
- Volusia Sexual Assault Helpine: (800) 503-7621
- Outreach Office: (386) 437-7747
- Outreach Fax: (386) 437-4938
- Website: www.flcfv.org
- Florida Department of Children and Families
- Domestic Violence Hotline: (800) 500-1119
- National Child Abuse Hotline: (800) 962-2873
- National Domestic Violence Hotline
- Phone: (800) 799-7233
- Text START to 88788
- Live chat at www.thehotline.org
- State Attorney Victim Advocate Office
- Flagler Phone: (386) 239-7720
- Volusia Phone: (386) 313-4300
- Volusia County Rape Crisis Center (702 S Ridgewood Ave, Daytona Beach, FL 32114)
- Phone: (386) 236-3123
