Police release grisly details of hotel room killing of mother, child

Jeff Jones

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL – Port St. Lucie police have released the details of a grisly double murder at a local hotel last week.

A preliminary investigation has revealed that on January 19, 2022, a 32-year-old female and a 4-year-old child traveled from Miami and arrived at Towneplace Suites. A 28-year-old male traveled separately from Miami and arrived at the hotel on the same day. All three individuals occupied the hotel room together and are residents of Miami with no known connections to Port St. Lucie. The hotel and location were chosen at random by the individuals.

On January 22, 2022, the male individual left the room to get breakfast. He later returned to the hotel room and found the door was locked and the female was not answering. At approximately 12:13pm, a 911 call was made by hotel staff and PSLPD responded due to the male being locked out of the room.

The male informed officers that he was concerned for the well-being of the female and child because they were not answering or opening the door. Officers attempted to open the door with a room key but discovered the door would only partially open because the interior security lock was engaged.


Due to exigent circumstances, Officers forced entry into the room and moved a refrigerator and sofa that had been positioned behind the door. Officers located the 32-year-old female and the 4-year-old child deceased on the bed. The 4-year-old child sustained two gunshot wounds and the female sustained one self-inflicted gunshot wound. A 9mm SCCY firearm belonging to the female was recovered on scene.

Officers secured the crime scene and CID Detectives responded to assume control of the investigation. A motive for the incident is unknown at this time. Marsy’s Law has been enacted in this incident so certain identities and information cannot be released.

A victim’s advocate responded to the scene to provide resources to the male individual. PSLPD activated our critical incident stress management protocols to ensure our first responding Officers have the necessary resources to cope with this incident. “This is an incredibly tragic event and on behalf of the men and women of the Port St. Lucie Police Department, I would like to offer our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the victims,” stated Chief John Bolduc.

As a reminder, if you are in need of mental health resources, please call 211 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

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