Ex-boyfriend arrested in Vero Beach homicide investigation
VERO BEACH, Fla. —
The Indian River County Sheriff’s Office announced the arrest of Matthew Waggle in connection with the fatal shooting of Dawn Kriskewic on First Street in Vero Beach early Sunday morning.
Investigators believe Waggle traveled by bus to Orlando and then used an Uber to reach Vero Beach, where he allegedly shot Kriskewic and left the scene just 15 minutes later using the same method of transportation.
“He was there for 10, 15 minutes tops. He murdered her in cold blood in the street,” Sheriff Eric Flowers said during a news conference.
Matthew Allen Waggle, a person of interest in the homicide of Dawn Kriskewic, was taken into custody by U.S. Marshals at a motel near Dunbar, West Virginia on Wednesday, August 19, 2026. The Indian River County Sheriff’s Office said its detectives are working to bring him back to Indian River County.
Flowers said Kriskewic had expressed concerns about Waggle to her co-workers at a hair salon.
“She had actually told her co-workers out at the hair salon, ‘If he calls, if he shows up, I want nothing to do with him. Tell him I’m not here,’” Flowers said.
The sheriff credited the controversial Flock license plate reader system for helping locate Waggle.
“Without Flock, I’m not standing here four days later telling you about this guy being in custody in West Virginia. So for everybody who wants to talk about how bad this system is, we got a murderer behind bars because of this. We got this guy off the streets because of the Flock system,” Flowers said.
Waggle was found at a motel in West Virginia, and officials said the gun used in the shooting belonged to Waggle’s ex-wife.
“She was at the hotel, the same hotel that we got him at. So they were definitely in communication. We don’t know to what extent, what she knew. We don’t know if she knew his plans. All those are things that our detectives will be asking,” Flowers said.
The sheriff added that Waggle’s ex-wife is still being questioned and is not currently facing any charges.
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