Police have arrested a St. Croix man for the Tuesday shooting death of 19-year-old Janice Rivera and wounding of another man, according to the Virgin Islands Police Department.
Jaden M. Francis, 22, allegedly killed Rivera and wounded the other man at Estate Rattan, Christiansted.
Investigators arrived shortly before 8 p.m. to find Rivera on the ground unresponsive and the unidentified man with a gunshot wound. He was transported to Juan F. Luis Hospital where plans were made to airlift him to an off-island medical center due to the extent of his injuries, police said.
Detectives serving a search warrant for Francis’ home allegedly found a firearm and ammunition, as well as property belonging to Rivera.
Francis surrendered to police Wednesday at approximately 2 a.m. He was charged with murder in the first degree, assault first degree, reckless endangerment first degree, and assault third degree. Bail was set at $1 million. Unable to post bail, Francis was transported to the John A. Bell Golden Grove Adult Correctional Facility, where he was remanded pending his Advice of Rights Hearing Friday, police said.
Rivera’s death marks the territory’s 29th homicide of 2025, and the 13th for St. Croix, according to the Source Homicide List.*
The incident comes as the V.I. Police Department reported that it shut down the Crucian Christmas Festival Village early Monday night due to fights breaking out in different areas of the festival grounds.
*The Source Homicide List is a chronological log of the homicides recorded in 2025 in the U.S. Virgin Islands, as reported by the VIPD. Cases are broken down by island. While this listing is based on VIPD reports, the Source does not include suicides or vehicular homicides in its listing, which the police and some other media do. This can lead to a discrepancy in the number of incidents reported.
