Photo: CBS 12
As police continue to investigate the death of a missing young mother, we're learning more about the connection between her and the man being held in her murder.
23-year old Perrin Damron volunteered at Eric Westergard's kangaroo sanctuary in Jupiter Farms and even set up a GoFundMe page to help him rebuild enclosures for the animals after they escaped in 2018.
The man faced several charges related to the way he was keeping the kangaroos.
45-year old Westergard led detectives with the Martin County Sheriff's Office to her body in a canal in Indiantown.
New details are being released about the investigation. Westergard told the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office that he was having an intimate relationship with Perrin, while referring to the woman's mother as his girlfriend.
Martin County detectives went to speak with him on Sunday and followed him to a gas station, where they claim he bought a gallon of water and then proceeded to scrub the cargo area of his SUV. Detectives made contact with him and noticed blood in his vehicle, to which Westergard said he had an "incident," but didn't elaborate.
The man says he smoked marijuana with the victim and his cousin at Westergard's home the night she disappeared. He claims she fell by his pool and hit her head. He said she was unconscious and gurgling when he found her, so he wrapped her body and dumped her in a canal.
But officials say evidence collected on his property was inconsistent with that story and they point out that he never tried to get her medical attention.
Westergard faces a first degree murder charge.
Fundraising efforts are underway to help Perrin Damron's mother raise the young woman's 2-year old son.
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