ST. THOMAS — Police Commissioner Delroy Richards confirmed to The Consortium this morning that V.I.P.D. officers here found a “crisply burned” body in the back of what appeared to be a rental vehicle on Saturday morning.
Mr. Richards said police were alerted to the incident, which occurred in Fortuna in the Bordeaux area, and immediately dispatched units to investigate the matter.
Upon arrival, Mr. Richards said officers found a vehicle that police believe to be a rental, with a male victim in the back, burned beyond recognition. He said the incident has been classified as a homicide, noting the severity of the burn, the manner in which the victim was found, and also the area, noting that the location, near a beach, has been known for drug trafficking. This latest victim is the third Mr. Richards was killed in the area, and although police have yet to identify the male victim, the two who died in the past, and a third who was injured, were Hispanics.
“The area where the vehicle was found, that’s about the third homicide we’ve had in that particular area. One of the things we have looked at is that it’s possibly one of those shipment points for drugs in that beach area. Mr. Richards then explained the past incidents that left the two Hispanics dead, one who was found dead with bullet wounds, and the other involving two Hispanic individuals, who were awaiting a drug drop-off when shots were fired at them, leaving one dead while the other escaped.
The individual who escaped was treated at the hospital where he was interviewed by police. “But when we went back to look for him, we couldn’t find him,” Mr. Richards said.
The commissioner said the incident remains under investigation.
Tags: burned body st. thomas, us virgin islands
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