TAMPA (970 WFLA) -- Domestic violence cases are all to common in Tampa and many places... but a Brazilian student at USF is drawing worldwide attention and support on social media, after she told the police she was beaten by her wealthy boyfriend, who also hails from Brazil.
22 Year old Melissa Gentz posted a picture of herself on Instagram showing a black eye and a cut across her forehead. Back on September 23rd, the University of South Florida undergrad told police her 25 year old boyfriend, Erick Bentz, threw her to the floor and kicked and punched her in the face, pulling out chunks of her hair during a fight in his downtown Tampa condo.
Gentz's picture went viral and drew support from Brazilian celebrities...
According to the Daily Mail, Gentz also recorded what she says was audio of the fight, in which a man is heard telling her, in Portuguese, that she wasn't accepting a man's "dominance" over her... telling her she needs to accept that she's the "woman" in the relationship.
The Mail says Bentz is the heir to the family that owns Brazil's biggest supermarket chain... he's out of the Hillsborough County jail on $60,000. His attorneys told the Mail they intend to try the case in the courts, not social media.
Video of a posting by Gentz below...