Aug. 7, 2006–Police on Monday identified the victims in Sunday's homicide-suicide and said domestic violence was the cause.
Responding to information provided by a resident driving on Oxford Road in the rain forest at 10:30 p.m. Sunday, Police discovered the body of Brenda Osario, 27, of Estate Whim, lying on the shoulder of the road. Osario had died of multiple gunshot wounds.
The unnamed resident, who drove to the Francis Command to make the report, also told police about an abandoned vehicle the resident had seen while traveling through the area. Police later found the vehicle about two miles from where Osario's body was found. A 32-year-old man was found slumped in the car, the apparent victim of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The male victim was identified as Malik Rohlsen, also of Estate Whim, in a release from the V.I. Police Department Monday afternoon.
The preliminary investigation revealed that Osario and Rohlen were romantically involved.
"Police consider last night's homicide-suicide to be the result of domestic violence," the release said.
Police Commissioner Elton Lewis said, "Situations such as these can usually be prevented from reaching such tragic extremes if the domestic violence concerns are identified and addressed earlier." Lewis went on to say that "the events leading to this tragedy did not unfold overnight but were probably preceded by a series of smaller acts."
He urged anyone suffering from domestic violence, or anyone who knows of anyone who is a victim, to report the situation to police. Lewis also urged victims to seek help from one of the community support agencies: the Women's Coalition on St. Croix, the Family Resource Center on St. Thomas, or the Safety Zone on St. John.
Police asked that anyone with information on this incident or any incidents to call the Criminal Investigation Bureau hotline at 778-4950 or Emergency 911.
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