COCOA BEACH, Fla. – The woman accused of fatally running over Jessica Erausquin and leaving her on a Cocoa Beach street in 2014 was arrested this week, Cocoa Beach police said an airline ticket with the suspect's name on it was found under Erausquin's body, according to the newly released arrest warrant.
Detectives said Marylee Walker, 30, and 27-year-old Erausquin met in October 2014 when they were both working as dancers at Lido's Cabaret in Cape Canaveral. Walker was arrested in Osceola County Tuesday and charged with vehicular manslaughter in connection to Erausquin's death.
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According to the arrest report, on the night before Erausquin's body was found in a Cocoa Beach cul-de-sac on Rose Drive, the two woman had been drinking together at Lido's, and club management asked Walker to take Erausquin home.
Video surveillance from the club showed Erausquin needing help getting into the passenger's side of Walker's Lincoln SUV at 11:20 p.m. on Oct. 15.
Walker told detectives she took Erausquin to a friend's house but that the victim didn't feel comfortable staying and they left. According to the arrest report, Walker says while they were driving around looking for Erausquin's friend's house, the victim started "freaking out" and jumped out of the moving car.
The suspect said that she assumed Erausquin found the house she was looking for and took off running. The victim was found by a homeowner the next morning in the street with Walker's airline ticket under her body, the report said.
According to the medical examiner's report, Erausquin's injuries were consistent with her being run over by a vehicle. The medical examiner said because of the way Erausquin was found, she was likely rolled over onto her back after she died.
It wasn't until a conversation with a new witness on Sept. 10 that Cocoa Beach police and Florida Department of Law Enforcement agents were able to arrest Walker for allegedly hitting Erausquin and leaving her.
The witness told detectives Walker spoke to him after the incident saying "she messed up really bad," and "an accident had happened." Walker told the witness Erausquin fell out of the car and she "got run over."
Police said they had exhausted all leads until they identified and interviewed Walker's former acquaintance, who provided them with those details, corroborated by witnesses. That information, along with the medical examiner's findings and evidence at the scene, led detectives to Walker, according to a news release.
Walker is being held at the Osceola County Correctional Facility until she is extradited to Brevard County.
The investigation is ongoing. Police asked anyone with information about Walker or the case to call the Cocoa Beach Police Department at 321-868-3251.