Convicted Child Abuser Stalks and Abandons 13-Year-Old Girl in Apartment Utility Closet, Sheriff Reports
A guy has been arrested in Florida on charges that he stabbed and killed a 13-year-old girl in an apartment building’s utility closet.
Officer John Mina of Orange County said at a news conference on Friday that 28-year-old Jerry Dorisme is charged with first-degree felony murder. The police have shared a GoFundMe page to help the family of Rose Dieujuste, 13, who was killed.
“The killing of Rose shook our community and our agency,” Mina said. “When a child is killed, we all feel sad together. I have kids. Each of our detectives is a parent, so this is tough for them and the neighborhood. No words can describe the pain and suffering that Rose’s family and friends are going through right now.
Press said that the 13-year-old girl was “senselessly and brutally murdered” on July 4 at the Orlando apartment complex where she lived, the Palmetto at Lakeside.
Police think she was going to another building in the complex to see a friend. That’s when Dorisme is said to have struck her. A friend of Rose’s found her cell phone and shoes on an apartment building stairs. She got in touch with the teen’s family. Someone Rose’s family member called around to look for her and found her in a utility closet, partly naked and stabbed. Sheriff’s officers were sent to the spot. The 13-year-old was barely breathing and wouldn’t respond even though CPR and first aid were being done. Rose died in the hospital from her wounds.
The police and sheriff’s office looked for the killer. Mina said that police found the box for a 12-inch knife in the closet. The police think this blade was used to kill the person.
Witnesses told the sheriff that they saw a “heavy-set” guy leave the building where Rose was found. Mina said that surveillance tape showed this person, Dorisme, following Rose from afar before she was killed. The knife was also seen on video from a nearby store, the sheriff said.
Part of the apartment complex video was shared by the police to help find the suspect who had not yet been named. Mia said that Dorisme’s own father called to identify him. The suspect was caught Thursday night.
Mina said the defendant was born in Haiti and has been in the U.S. illegally since 2008. In 2021, he pleaded not guilty to child abuse charges and was given a year and a day in jail. Charges were dropped, including ones for lewd or lascivious assault.
He was last seen by Orange County police on June 18. Mina told media that they got a call about a man with a knife walking down the street. He finally dropped the weapon, but not before punching three deputies. The sheriff said that he was then subject to the state’s Baker Act mental health rule. The case for one count of fighting an officer with violence and three counts of battery on a police officer is still going on.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement is helping with the investigation, which is still going on. Mina said that Dorisme did not fight when he was arrested on Thursday. The sheriff said the suspect might know the apartment complex because he had lived in the area and gone to a barber shop there. People in the area said they saw him watching girls.
“They were worried about him for sure,” Mina said.
A felony murder charge has been brought against Dorisme. Records show that he went to court for the first time on Friday.