The Department of Public Safety’s public information officer, Police Sgt. Fred Sato, conducts a press conference on Friday.
POLICE have yet to determine the motive behind the killing of a man and the serious injury sustained by a woman in a Fina Sisu apartment, Sgt. Fred Sato, the Department of Public Safety public information officer, said in a press briefing Friday afternoon.
DPS launched a homicide investigation on Thursday after an unresponsive male and an injured female were found in their apartment bedroom on Hagamham Lane corner Tun Joaquin Doi Road.
“It’s the old Ladera International School that was converted into an apartment complex,” Sato said. “It seems that the victims were staying on the compound. During the investigation, we were not able to find any other tenants in the compound, just the two victims.”
He added, “We unfortunately cannot release the identity of the victims until we notify the next of kin. I can say that the male was in his 60s, and the female is in her 50s. They are a couple but not legally married. They are also both legal residents. They have green cards, and are long-time residents of the island.”
Sato said it was a co-worker of the female victim who called the police.
“What happened was the female victim did not report for work that Thursday, and an associate of the caller called and asked her to … check on the female victim. Because of the language barrier, the caller had to find someone who could speak English and could assist her to call 911. The caller reported that there might be injured people in an apartment complex. The officers arrived at the scene several minutes later [and] police officers were able to meet with the caller [who] escorted them up to the old Ladera International School. Officers … entered the room and noticed traces of blood on the floor leading to the bedroom. When they got to the bedroom that’s where they discovered a male lying on the floor, in a pool of blood, and then the critically injured female alongside him. Later, medics arrived and transported the victims to the hospital,” Sato said.
“The male victim was pronounced dead due to blunt force trauma. The female is currently in critical condition from the injury that she received,” Sato added.
The male victim was an electrician and the female victim was a private school teacher.
“The caller did not know that they were injured that time,” Sato said.
“She saw from the window that there was blood, so she was in a panic mode and immediately looked for help … for someone to help her and call for police assistance because of the language barrier.”
“Based on the information I gathered,” Sato said, “investigators are still trying to determine the motive in the incident. We can’t determine whether it’s a robbery or burglary or they might have a gathering and something might have ensued — the motive is still being established [and] investigators are still trying to figure out if there were weapons used or anything.”
Sato said, “Initially, it was thought that it was a person who might have [fallen] and injured himself, and then we got there, and the unresponsive male was on the floor with the … female victim [who] sustained severe trauma to her face. She’s unconscious. Police officers are posted at the hospital, just to ensure the safety of the female victim, and should she regain consciousness they can alert investigators, so we can conduct an interview.”
Sato said DPS is “receiving tips from our Crime Stoppers hotline, investigators are actively pursuing tips that are coming in, but we do not have potential suspects at this time…. [It] is an ongoing investigation. As you know, DPS is a small police department. Everyone in the investigation section is combining their efforts and working on this one particular case…. The commissioner has everyone … on the ground working on the case. We are also working with our federal partners in this case.”
Sato said police “don’t have information whether the perp or perps used a vehicle or was on foot. We don’t know if we are looking for one individual or if it’s gang-related…. All angles are being looked at.”
As for signs of forced entry, Sato said, “If you see this apartment complex, it’s a beatdown complex. I can literally walk in. They have windows that don’t have bars. It is a dilapidated complex [and] anyone can have access to it.”
Sato said, “When the body was found, [it] was not in rigor mortis yet … it was still fairly new … meaning [the incident happened] within 12-24 hours, [but] the male victim was deceased when police got there.”
He said an autopsy will be done on the male victim.
The “AG’s office will be working with the Guam team to see if they can have the medical examiner fly out here,” Sato added.
DPS is also seeking community assistance. If you have any information or have seen anything occurring within the area, call DPS-Criminal Investigation Bureau at (670) 664-9042. If you wish to remain anonymous, call the Crime Stoppers hotline at (670) 234-7272.
