St. John Homicide Victim Is Identified as James “Jim” Malfetti, 41

 

A memorial for James “Jimmy” Malfetti with a picture of him at the beach, below, remained in front of the altar at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Cruz Bay after a service which attracted scores of island friends.

A St. John man found dead in his south shore  apartment on Sunday, January 19, may have been killed after the house in which the apartment was located had been buglarized in the days before his murder, sources have told Tradewinds.

V.I. Police Department officials have identified the victim as James Malfetti, 41, who had lived on St. John for several years. On January 19 police issued a preliminary press release classifying Malfetti’s death as suspicious.

Malfetti was found unresponsive inside his apartment by the property manager and had suffered “puncture wounds on his neck,” according to a Tuesday morning VIPD press release. Tradewinds sources said the man’s throat had been cut and he appeared to have been dead for a while before his body was discovered.

No Information on Reported Burglary
There was no police report of a Friday robbery of the main residence in a neighborhood of expensive vacation homes on the record at the VIPD Leander Jurgen Command on St. John. There was a report logged at 8:18 a.m. on Saturday of a woman calling to report a burglary at an unidentified residence.

There was no address listed for the reported burglary which was listed as a Second Degree Burglary, but Tradewinds sources confirmed it was the owner of the residence containing Malfetti’s apartment.

“They (the owners) locked their door,” the source told Tradewinds of the Friday night attempted burglary.

No one checked on Malfetti’s apartment until Sunday morning, one source told Tradewinds. The perpetrator or perpetrators also may have taken Malfetti’s vehicle.

“No one checked on him because his car wasn’t there,” the source said.

Another Tradewinds source said the packing box for a wall-mount television set was found in the apartment but the television was missing.

911 Emergency Dispatch notified police of the case at 9:55 a.m. on Sunday, January 19.

St. John Deputy Police Chief Maria Jones confirmed Sunday afternoon that police were investigating a suspicious death that occurred at an apartment on Boatman Point Road.

The VIPD reported at week’s end that their investigation was continuing. This case is being investigated by the Major Crime Bureau and Intelligence Agents. Forensic technicians collected and are processing evidence.

Malfetti had lived and worked on St. John for several years as a computer consultant, according to friends. His parents were reported to have arrived on St. John on Tuesday from their home in New Jersey to return their son’s body to the states.

Island Friends Gather for Memorial
Friends of James Malfetti gathered at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church in Cruz Bay on Friday, January 24, for a memorial service.

The investigators are urging anyone who can assist them in determining the circumstances surrounding this death to call 714-9834, 715-5522, 911 or you can call Crimes Stoppers USVI at 1-800-222-TIPS.

The murder was the first homicide of the year on St. John and the first since August 2012. It was the third homicide in the territory.

The most recent murder on St. John was that of Tiny Jah Jarvis, 31, who was shot to death in the Bellevue Village housing community on Aug. 17, 2012. Ralph Titre, 23, was charged with murder, and a 17-year-old boy later was charged in connection with the case for being in possession of the murder weapon.