Indierra Morales, 24 years old, lost her life Sunday following a shooting in Frederiksted, reported the V.I. Police Department.
At approximately 12:55 a.m., the ShotSpotter alerted 911 ECC of a discharging of shots on King’s Street, according to the police report.
Shortly after, several concerned citizens informed 911 ECC dispatcher(s) of a female who was shot inside a black vehicle on King’s Street, the report said.
During the investigation, the CIB detectives learned that a light-skinned male wearing a gray hoodie, and long dark jeans, with a low afro, had both hands tucked inside his hoodie when he walked up to the vehicle the victim was sitting in. Another female was screaming out to him not to do it when he opened fire with a handgun, shooting the female occupant multiple times, according to the report.
The man, later identified as Rosnel Diaz-Bautista, 22, then stopped shooting, tucked his hands back inside the hoodie, and ran toward Hill Street, the report said.
The detectives’ investigation also revealed that he was the deceased’s former intimate partner.
Diaz-Bautista was detained and transported to the Wilbur Francis Command, where he was placed under arrest and charged with murder first degree. Bail was set at $1 million.
The body was transported to the Gov. Juan Luis Hospital via ambulance and was pronounced dead on arrival at 1:39 a.m. by the emergency room attending physician.
This homicide was the 10th on St. Croix, and the 22nd in the territory, according to the Source Homicide List.*
*The Source Homicide List is a chronological log of the homicides recorded in 2024 in the U.S. Virgin Islands, as reported by the VIPD. Cases are broken down by island. While this listing is based on VIPD reports, the Source does not include suicides or vehicular homicides in its listing, which the police and some other media do. This can lead to a discrepancy in the number of incidents reported.
