The ex-husband of a Florida woman who remarried a week ago has been charged with the shooting deaths of her and her newlywed husband.
Family members identified the victims as Kerlande and Marcelline Racine, a pastor and nurse who were married on December 2, WPTV reported.
“She has never been as happy as she was now,” Marcelline Racine’s sister said.
Sony Josaphat has been charged with two counts of first degree murder and was ordered held without bond during a court appearance Sunday morning.
According to an arrest report released Monday and family members, the former couple’s adult daughter witnessed the shooting just after 8:30 a.m. on Saturday and called 911. Palm Beach County deputies found the Racines on the sidewalk in front of the home. Josephat fled the scene but later turned himself in, telling deputies “he had just killed” the couple, the report said.
Josephat and Marcelline Racine’s divorce was finalized on November 22, court records show, but family members said that the former couple had not been together in more than a year. Josephat “randomly shows up from time to time and has a history of being controlling,” they told detectives.
A witness said the Racines were outside, with Kerlande installing security cameras and Marcelline taking groceries out of the trunk of her car when Josaphat parked across the street and got out of his car. He greeted the couple, then “pulled out a pistol and shot” them, the report said.
At the jail, Josaphat told detectives his ex-wife “has been disrespecting him and blocked his calls.” He said he became angry when he learned of the wedding on December 2. On Saturday, he left his apartment to take his daughter to the Racines’ home, where she was to have breakfast.
“He said his anger took over him,” the report said.
Marcelline Racine’s sister told WPTV that two of her sister’s other children were at the house at the time. She said her sister moved to Florida from Haiti 25 years ago.
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[Featured image: Kerlande and Marcelline Racine/family handout]
