Cops ID dead body found in bushes near Castle Burke

FREDERIKSTED – Police are investigating after a bullet-riddled body was found in the bushes near Castle Burke on Monday afternoon, authorities said.

Malik “CTE” Anthony Francis, 33, of Frederiksted, was positively identified by a family member as the homicide victim, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.

The 911 Emergency Call Center received a call on Monday, November 17, 2025, at about 12:11 p.m., from a concerned citizen who reported that a male was lying in the bushes who appeared to be unresponsive in Castle Burke, according to the VIPD.

Emergency Medical Technicians attended to the victim and pronounced the male dead on the scene, police said.

“He (Francis) sustained multiple gunshot wounds to his upper body,” VIPD spokeswoman Kishma Chichester said.

Meanwhile, the family and friends of Malik “CTE” Anthony Francis were taking today’s news of his passing especially hard.

“Damn Malik Cte fly high bro,” Pappy Neva Scared Gonzalez said in a special tribute posted on Facebook this afternoon.

The homicide is currently under active investigation.

Anyone with information on this crime is urged to call 911, the Criminal Investigation Bureau at 340-778-2211 or Crime Stoppers USVI at 1-800-222-8477.