A man in Florida is facing two charges of first-degree murder after he allegedly shot and killed a newlywed pastor and his wife. Suspect Sonny Josaphat, 46, of Palm Beach County was formerly married to the female victim.
The victims have been identified as Kerlande and Marcelline Racine, according to WPTV.
The couple was slain in their home on Saturday, Dec. 9, roughly a week after their wedding.
The Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that deputies responded to a report of a shooting at 8:36 a.m. When they arrived at the residence, deputies discovered the couple had died from gunshot wounds.
Police immediately began investigating the shooting as a double homicide and said that investigators were interviewing a person of interest. That individual was later revealed to be Josaphat.
According to NBC News, Josaphat used to live at the residence where the newlywed couple was slain.
According to court documents, Josaphat had not lived in the residence in over a year but would periodically show up at the home and allegedly had a history of being “controlling.” After the shooting, Josaphat’s daughter called 911 to tell police that her father had committed the murders.
After fleeing the scene, Josaphat drove to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office, where he confessed to the double homicide. According to CBS12, he told police that he had left his apartment to take his daughter to breakfast, but after seeing his ex-wife with her new husband, “anger took him over.”
Josaphat is being held without bond.
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Kerlande and Marcelline Racine were both Haitian immigrants. While Kerlande was a pastor, Marcelline was a long-time nurse practitioner. The couple were married following Marcelline’s divorce from Josaphat, which was finalized in November 2022.
