Partially-Decomposed Body Of Man Shot To Death Found Near Cramer’s Park: VIPD

EAST END, St. Croix — The partially-decomposed body of a man who had been shot to death was found near Cramer’s Park early this morning, authorities said.

The 911 Emergency Call Center was notified of what appeared to be a body in the bushes east of Cramer’s Park about 6:51 a.m. today, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.

“Officers were dispatched, and they found the body of a male individual, dead from an apparent gunshot wound,” VIPD spokesman Toby Derima said. “No form of identification was on the body.”

The dead man was described by police as being “young, black, dark-skinned, medium build, about 6-foot to 6-foot-3 inches tall.” He had black, kinky hair worn in an afro, and a square earring with diamonds in his left ear. He was wearing a black t-shirt, blue jeans, green plaid boxers, and black Nike slippers.

The VIPD is asking the community for assistance in identifying the person who died, Derima said.

If you have any information that can help detectives with this case, please call 911, the Crime Tip Line at (340) 778-4950, or the paying anonymous tip line Crime Stoppers USVI at (800) 222-TIPS (8477).

John F. McCarthy is a veteran journalist in the Caribbean, writing from the "Decision Space" where survival meets the surreal. His reporting steel was tempered by a lineage of legendary editors and broadcasters, including Ed Wynn Brant (The Bomb), Owen Eschenroder (Ann Arbor News), Lynelle Emanuel (BVI Beacon), and Charles Thanas (WSVI-TV). Alongside longtime colleague Kenneth C. "Casey" Clark, McCarthy has navigated the front lines of the territory’s history—from the 1997 volcanic "snow" to every major hurricane since Hugo. Known for leaning out of doorless helicopters to capture the "money shot," McCarthy now edits the V.I. Free Press, providing the essential link between the island's colonial past and its SpaceX future.