June 15, 2008 — The territory logged its second and third homicides in as many days on Sunday when a 29-year-old woman was killed in the parking area of a St. Croix nightclub, and the body of a man was found riddled with bullets in an abandoned home on St. Thomas.
Police spokeswoman Melody Rames said Sunday that Emelda Wells of the John F. Kennedy housing community was killed while standing in the parking lot of a mid-island nightclub about 4 a.m. Sunday.
According to initial reports to police, Wells was in the parking lot area with another individual "when they were approached by one or more persons who displayed a weapon and fired, striking Wells in the face," Rames said.
Wells was pronounced dead at the scene and no other injuries were reported. The investigation continues.
Also Sunday, police on St. Thomas discovered the partially decomposed body of a black male about 9:30 a.m. in Smith Bay. Police are withholding his identity pending notification of next of kin.
Officers were dispatched to the scene and "once inside the structure police found the partially decomposed body of a male victim lying on a bed with what appeared to be multiple gunshot wounds to the body," Rames said.
Medical personnel on the scene said that the victim may have been dead for two to five days, Rames aid.
Police discovered the body after a concerned citizen reported an odor emanating from the home, which was abandoned. Investigators had to be assisted by firefighters to gain entry, she said.
Sunday's killings mark the 13th and 14th homicides territory-wide with six on St. Thomas and eight on St. Croix.
The grisly discovery in Smith Bay comes after police sought the assistance of residents of the Oswald Harris Court housing community regarding a shooting on June 13 that left a man dead. The victim, described as a black male, 20 to 30 years old, sustained two gunshot wounds about 7:50 p.m., based on a report to the 911 center. Rames said Sunday that police are withholding the name of the victim pending positive identification by next of kin.
Police are urging anyone with information on the deaths to contact police at 911 territory-wide or 715-5554 on St. Thomas and 778-4950 on St. Croix.
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