MIAMI BEACH, FLA. (WSVN) – New video captured a harrowing beating in the heart of South Beach that claimed the life of a woman and landed her alleged attacker behind bars on a second-degree murder charge.
“Brutal and deadly” sums up that July 26 night in one of the most central sections of Miami Beach’s famed entertainment district.
A median on Ocean Drive and Fifth Street was where, Miami Beach Police said, one woman beat another so badly, the victim would die from traumatic brain injuries days later.
Cellphone video obtained exclusively by 7News shows the point of view from someone recording from inside the popular TGI Friday’s, as the fierce onslaught of lethal punches and other violence overwhelmed the victim.
Several tourists, some with their luggage seen on the sidewalk, watched while stunned and horrified. Fast-responding police officers were quick to catch and cuff the suspect, 20-year-old Zaria Williams.
“It’s Anna Mathis,” a responding officer is heard saying to another.
The officers knew the victim’s name and said both the victim and suspect were homeless.
What happened to her?” an officer asked a witness.
“This girl was on top of her, like beating the [expletive] out of her,” said the witness.
As witnesses spoke with officers, another officer tried talking to the unconscious victim.
“Anna, can you hear me? Can you breathe, Anna?” said the officer.
But Mathis did not respond.
Good Samaritan witnesses tried to help, including a nurse.
Moments later, Miami Beach Fire Rescue units arrived at the scene.
The gravely injured Mathis, 55, still had a pulse, according to first responders.
Paramedics rushed the victim to the hospital, following a vicious encounter with a suspect who, her arrest report states, “looked like a [mixed martial arts] fighter and knew how to fight,” according to witness accounts.
Williams was arrested. Police were told the beating was over a stolen necklace.
Robert Karlsson knew the victim and said he hadn’t seen her in some time.
“I haven’t seen her, and I was looking for her,” he said. “She’s either be here on Fifth or down on Fourth and I was looking for her, wondering where she went.”
Karlsson later learned what happened to Mathis on that June night.
“She was the sweetest thing. That’s really sad,” she said.
Karlsson lives in South Beach and considered Mathis a friend. He said she was well-known and well-liked.
“That’s really a shock. She was the kindest person, never hurt a fly, never bothered anybody,” he said. “She only asked for money if she knew you.”
The killing was the second murder involving the homeless in a two-month span. 7News broke the story of the beating of a transgender woman outside the Miami City Ballet building and the subsequent arrest of the accused killer.
Miami Beach Mayor Steven Meiner addressed homeless crime last week with a new initiative focusing on access to shelters, meals and treatment options.
But three days after this violent night, Mathis passed away, and Williams would be charged with second-degree murder.
“There’s definitely a homeless challenge here on the beach,” Karlsson said. “There’s a lot of work to be done. At night, you’ve got to be careful where you go.”
Williams remains at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center in West Miami-Dade. Her trial is pending.
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