Two women died Friday afternoon and one man is in custody after what police described as a family quarrel ended in violence in Estate Peter’s Rest.
Police on St. Croix are investigating the double homicide about 4 p.m. Friday in front of a private residence. The deaths are the 13th and 14th on St. Croix since the first of the year, the 23rd and 24th in the territory in that time.
According to police, an officer on routine patrol in the area heard several shots and went to investigate. He saw two women who appeared to have gunshot wounds to their body and were unresponsive.
Police detained a man as a “person of interest” and recovered a weapon at the scene they believe to be the murder weapon.
Police said the murders were the result of a family quarrel. Police did not release the names of the victims but did acknowledge that one was 40 years old and the other victim was 19. The detained man is 48.
Police Chief Oakland Benta and Deputy Police Chief Christopher Howell were among those responding to the scene, along with Investigation Bureau detectives, Forensic Unit technicians and other officers.
Howell extended his sympathy to the family of the victims and commended the officers for their swift response to the scene, which enabled them to secure evidence and take someone into custody.
“The officers’ swift response and containment of the crime scene increases the likelihood that this case will have a quick judicial resolution,” Howell said.
