Sony Josaphat shoots newly married Florida couple dead, a West Palm Beach pastor and his nurse practioner wife at their home one week after tying the knot. No known motive.
A Florida pastor & his newly married wife were shot dead one week after getting married at their residence over the weekend.
Arrested in the slaying of the newlyweds was Sony Josaphat, the Palm Beach County Sheriff said in a statement.
The names of the victims were not released after relatives invoked Florida law, ‘Marsy’s Law’ which bars identifying victims of crime.
Florida man who killed newlyweds finalized divorce with bride a month earlier
Neighborhood searches for answers
Cops were called to the scene and found both bodies with multiple gunshot wounds.
Homicide detectives quickly identified Josaphat as a suspect in the case and executed a search warrant at a home on the same block.
Josaphat was taken into custody after a brief interview.
‘She has never been as happy as she was now,’ a relative said of the bride, telling WPTV she and her husband had just married the prior Saturday, which was also the bride’s birthday.
A wedding picture of the couple shows the female victim, a longstanding nurse practitioner, smiling next to her new pastor husband.
The victims, who regularly attended a local church, were both originally from Haiti, the woman’s sister said.
Three of the wife’s children were inside the home when Josaphat is said to have gunned her and her spouse down.
One of her adult children witnessed the shootings, according to reports.
Neighbors in the normally quiet community said they heard loud bangs but thought the couple were working on their home, WESH reported.
‘It’s heartbreaking,’ said Deanne Germeil, who has lived in the Summit Pines community for the last two years. ‘This is horrific. It’s terrible, and I don’t know how to describe this.’
Police have not yet released a motive for the slayings.
Josaphat faces two counts of first-degree murder and remains held without bond. He is slated to appear in court again early next month.
