FREDERIKSTED — When two brothers squabbled over their improper housing situation with their disabled mother in a federally-funded home — one brother died after his throat was brutally slashed.
Omari Horton, 30, was arrested and charged with first-degree attempted murder, first-degree assault, and possession of a dangerous weapon during the commission of a crime of violence, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.
The case began at 12:52 a.m. today when officers were dispatched to Bougainvillea Gardens on King Street in Frederiksted town to investigate a stabbing, police said.
VIPD mug shot of Omari Horton, 30, of Hospital Street, Frederiksted, St. Croix.
A concerned citizen reported to 911 emergency dispatchers that a male was stabbed at Bougainvillea Gardens, according to police.
Emergency Medical Technicians rendered medical aid to the stabbing victim and transported him to the Juan F. Luis Hospital, VIPD spokeswoman Kishma Chichester said.
“The victim sustained a stab wound to the right side of his neck and was in critical condition at the time,” Chichester explained.
Detectives with the Criminal Investigation Bureau determined that Omari Horton stabbed the victim in the neck with a knife, she said.
Bougainvillea Gardens on King Street in Frederiksted town on St. Croix.
Bail for Horton was set at $100,000.00. Unable to post bail, he was remanded to the custody of the Bureau of Corrections at the Golden Grove prison.
Horton is scheduled for an advice-of-rights hearing in Superior Court tomorrow.
“Further investigation disclosed that the victim, identified by next of kin as 42-year-old
Rupert Rivera, later succumbed to his injuries at the Juan F. Luis Hospital emergency room,” Chichester added.
Lutheran Social Services of the Virgin Islands, which has owned and operated Bourgainvillea Gardens since 2007, was offered the opportunity to comment on the tragedy of a life lost, but heartlessly chose not to.
“We don’t have any comment at this time,” Kimberly Gereau, the director of LSSVI’s office of public relations and development, told the Virgin Islands Free Press this afternoon.