American tourist & wife die in Aruba murder-suicide hours at Palm Beach luxury resort after Boris Jozic of Morton Grove, Illinois, shooting and killing his wife, Cristina ‘Gatia’ Jozic before then jumping to his death. The body building couple had wished followers on Facebook well wishes for 2026 just days earlier.
An American tourist and his wife vacationing in the Caribbean island of Aruba were found dead at their luxury resort hotel in a suspected murder-suicide mere days after wishing family and friends back in their home state of Illinois ‘Happy New Year’ wishes for 2026.
Boris Jozic and his wife Cristina ‘Gatia’ Jozic were found dead at a high-rise hotel on Palm Beach on January 4th, Sunday morning local authorities according to posts shared on social media.
Morton Grove, Illinois bodybuilder couple had arrived to Aruba resort to celebrate new year
Jozic, the owner of the Steel Fitness Gym in Morton Grove, Illinois, reportedly took his wife’s life before jumping off the higher floors of the luxury resort where the couple had reportedly gone to celebrate the New Year.
Police Central Dispatch were called to the St Regis Hotel at approximately 8:44 a.m on Sunday, January 4 to reports of a man lying motionless on the ground. Aruba police arrived and secured the scene, while paramedics checked the individual. He was confirmed dead, with preliminary investigations determining he had fallen (leapt to his suicide death) from one of the higher floors of the resort.
Police accessed his room for further investigation and discovered a female victim, believed to be his wife. Preliminary information suggests that the man may have killed his wife before jumping from the balcony. The manner of death of the wife had yet to be publicly released, nevertheless social media indicated gunshots being involved.
‘This case is regrettable and unusual for Aruba. The Aruba Police Force extends its condolences to the families of the deceased,’ said police spokesperson Liliana Rasmijn in a released statement.
Domestic related tragedy at luxury Aruba resort
Aruba police described the incident as ‘tragic and unusual’, and said that the couple’s deaths were being treated as a domestic-related incident, with no indication of any threat to the public. No additional suspects are believed to be involved.
An unconfirmed report stated that the husband had contacted his agent in the United States and reportedly said that he had killed his wife and intended to take his own life.
Stated a post in part shared in a Reddit thread, ‘A body fell from the sky into the pool at around A 9:00 this morning I’ve been St Regis pool in Aruba. Thank goodness we missed it by 30 seconds as my kids and my wife and I were walking out of the elevator into the pool area.’
The duo according to the reddit thread had operated the fitness gym and had reportedly been married since 2018 wrote one commentator.
Commented another, ‘Does anyone one know if the husband and wife were bodybuilders? Wife is of Filipino event. In their 40’s.’
Wrote another, ‘I’m here and hear the shot as well. I was on our 2nd fl balcony. I ran inside because I did not want to find out if more were coming.’
Palm Beach Aruba-murder-suicide days after final Facebook post
The tragedy came just days after the couple taking to Facebook where they wrote on January 1, 5.25 p.m, ‘Ending the year hot, happy, and a little spoiled. Aruba nights + forever vibes.’
According to investigators, the couple had arrived in Aruba from the United States just one day earlier on December 31.
News of the deaths has triggered an outpouring of grief, particularly in Illinois, where Boris Jozic was well known within fitness and bodybuilding communities. Friends and colleagues described him as disciplined, motivated, and deeply committed to health and training, making the circumstances surrounding the incident difficult to comprehend.
A GoFundMe was established for the female victim, ‘In loving memory of Cristina Gatia’ was established which described her ‘a proud mother of five, a loving grandmother, a devoted daughter, loving sister, cherished aunt, and a dear friend to so many,’ who was ‘taken from those who loved her on January 4, 2026.’
