Fredensborg Man Arrested For Threatening To Kill Woman, Setting Apartment On Fire

SALT RIVER — A St. Croix man was arrested and charged with attempted murder after threatening to kill a woman and then setting her apartment on fire, authorities said.

Jose Miguel Crispin, 53, of Old Fredensborg, was arrested at 6:26 a.m. today and charged with first-degree arson; attempted murder; destruction to property; and disturbance of peace by threats-domestic violence, the Virgin Islands Police Department said.

At around 2:54 a.m., the 911 Emergency Call Center dispatched officers to Concordia East, where an adult female requested assistance with Crispin, her ex-boyfriend, according to the VIPD.

“Crispin allegedly threatened to kill the female, and he lit her apartment on fire,” VIPD spokesman Toby Derima said.

Bail for Crispin was set at $75,000. Unable to post bail, he was remanded to the custody of the V.I. Bureau of Corrections pending an advice-of-rights hearing.

All individuals listed as arrested or charged with a crime in this report are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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.