There has been no new information from V.I. Police Department about the investigation into the mid-January stabbing death of a New Jersey man in his south shore apartment.
There is nothing new to report from V.I. Police Department investigators.
A VIPD spokesperson has said officials will issue statements when they have something to release to the public.
There is nothing new to report from the private investigator working for the Malfetti family.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation has not taken an active role in the investigation despite the call by a New Jersey U.S. Senator for federal involvement in the investigation into Malfetti’s death.
Friends Lambaste USVI on Internet
Friends and family of Malfetti on St. John and in his home state of New Jersey, meanwhile, have fed internet chatter which typically follows any major crime against a visitor about how dangerous the U.S. Virgin Islands are for tourists.
Malfetti family private investigator William Phoenix has never asserted Malfetti was murdered in a case of mistaken identity, although Phoenix has confirmed to Tradewinds he was aware of the island rumor that Malfetti was killed after being mistaken for the previous tenant of the apartment he had recently rented.
Phoenix has down played the importance of the “mistaken identity” rumors while alluding to other avenues of investigation.
The young man has told friends and acquaintances that he was the intended target of the attack on Malfetti, but speaking with him is not a priority for Phoenix.
“We have other persons of interest,” private investigator Phoenix told Tradewinds in an e-mail on Friday, February 21. Phoenix would not elaborate.The private investigator has been guarded in his comments or answers to questions from Tradewinds concerning the investigation, including the whereabouts of a large screen television stolen from the apartment during or after the stabbing murder of Malfetti.
“I will answer what I can while keeping my client’s and the investigation’s best interest in focus,” the private investigator wrote in a February e-mail to Tradewinds. “That being said, I’m not prepared to discuss the television at this time.”
Investigator Confirms Time Frame of Events
Phoenix has confirmed the time frame of the events leading up to the discovery of Malfetti’s body on January 19.
“The burglary (to the main residence) occurred between the hours of 11 p.m. Friday night (January 17) and the time they awoke and reported it Saturday morning (January 18),” Phoenix previously told Tradewinds. “(The owners) reported the burglary to their residence. They were home at the time the burglary occurred.”
“There is no evidence to support that the homicide did not occur during the same time frame as the burglary to the… home,” Phoenix continued.
“His car and Jimmy were discovered on the 19th,” Phoenix said. “Their caretaker discovered Jimmy Sunday morning.”
“Jimmy’s car was located on Rendezvous the same day his body was found, January 19,” the private investigator confirmed in an e-mail.
Despite calls by New Jersey U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez for FBI involvement in the investigation of Malfetti’s murder, the FBI has not had significant involvement in the investigation, Phoenix said.
“We were told the FBI is involved in a ‘limited’ capacity,” said the investigator whose Phoenix Investigations is based in St. Petersburg, Florida.
