Officials ID body found in water

It's unknown how the 26-year-old Crystal River man wound up in a pond.

By JORGE SANCHEZ
Published September 19, 2005

---

CRYSTAL RIVER - Sheriff's officials have identified the body of a man found floating in a pond as Michael D. Banas, 26, of Crystal River.

Banas, of 754 NE 12th St., whose body was found Sunday in a small pond off Moss Rose Terrace, was attending a party in that area Friday night, said sheriff's spokeswoman Gail Tierney.

An autopsy was performed Monday,and "there were no signs of foul play," she said. The Sheriff's Office was still investigating how Banas wound up in the pond.

Tierney said the Medical Examiner's Office wouldn't have a cause of death until a complete toxicology screen, to test for drugs or poisons, could be completed. She said the process takes several days.

Banas was a line cook at Fat Boy's Restaurant in Crystal River. He had worked there less than a month, said a manager at the restaurant.

IN OTHER NEWS: Curtis W. Stuart, 39, of Hernando was arrested Sunday and accused of beating and stabbing his live-in girlfriend.

When a deputy arrived at the Hernando home where the couple live, he found a woman whose left eye was blackened and swollen to the point of almost being closed. She also had bruising to her right eye and her lips were cut and swollen. She had blood on the front of her shirt and a stab wound in her left forearm, an arrest report stated. The woman was shaking uncontrollably, sobbing and crying, the report stated. She told the deputy that Stuart had attacked her.

Stuart had left the area, but was found a while later.

The victim, not named in the arrest report, said she and Stuart had been living together for about two weeks. The attack began after the two had been out drinking, she said.

Stuart was charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, aggravated assault and domestic battery. He remains behind bars at the Citrus County jail; no bail has been set.