Woman and Brother-in-law Murdered in Ladyville; Police Detain Suspect
A man and a woman were found dead inside a residence in Ladyville shortly after midday today. The two were businesswoman, fifty-year-old Deserie Gonzalez Rowland and her brother-in-law, twenty-five-year-old George Encalada. Police reportedly took the main suspect, known to both victims, into custody at the scene. The circumstances surrounding the double homicide are what have the victims’ families and friends puzzled because, contrary to what some news media Facebook pages have reported since the discovery, suggesting that it was a love triangle gone awry, one family member told News Five that their observations at the scene do not support any kind of a love situation gone wrong. New Five’s Marion Ali reports.
Marion Ali, Reporting
Residents of Scissors Tail Street in Ladyville scurried out after midday to D’s Tropical Bistro where gunshots had reportedly rang out seconds earlier. There, inside the bedroom, a woman – fifty year-old Deserie Gonzalez Rowland lay dead. Not far away, her brother-in-law, twenty-five-year-old George Encalada also lay dead. Rowland’s sister, Cindy Rowland told News Five the incident is puzzling to the family.
Cindy Rowland
Cindy Rowland, Sister of Deserie Gonzalez Rowland
“I called my daughter and I asked her before I came and I said, see what is happening at Aunt Dez because I heard someone got shot. So when she came, I called her back and she said, mom, it’s Auntie Dez. They said that it’s Auntie D. She’s inside along with somebody else, dead. And I said, but can’t. Why? How?”
The police department’s Deputy Commander of Operations for Eastern Division, Senior Superintendent Reymundo Reyes told the media that investigators found the suspect, Rowland’s common-law-husband, thirty-nine-year-old Miguel Encalada inside the house.
Reymundo Reyes
Sr. Supt. Reymundo Reyes, Deputy Commander, Operations, B.P.D.
“Sometime after 12:00 p.m., information was received of a shooting incident at this address where police made checks and discovered the lifeless bodies of two individuals inside the house, and as a result, the investigators were called in along with the scenes of crime to process the scene. We have the body of a male person with what appears to be head injuries as well as that of the female. The investigation is somewhat pretty young. At this moment, we have one person in custody, who intend to interview.”
Marion Ali
“Can you say the relation between him and the victims?
Deserie Gonzalez Rowland
Sr. Supt. Reymundo Reyes
“The female we understand is his girlfriend and the male person is his brother.”
Rowland’s sister, Cindy Rowland told News Five that the scene was apparently staged to make it look like the two victims were caught in a compromising situation, since her sister was undressed and George Encalada was also half dressed. But upon closer observation by Rowland, it appeared that Encalada was killed outside and dragged inside the house through a window.
George Encalada
Cindy Rowland
“From my observation, my sister was killed inside her room, okay? And the other guy was killed outside of the establishment. Outside.”
Marion Ali
“Why you say that?”
Cindy Rowland
“Because we saw blood on the ground. And not only that, we saw blood where he was pulled through the window. to pull back inside the establishment through the window.”
Marion Ali
“So you’re saying…”
Cindy Rowland
“It’s just the story when I – what I heard – cause people were suspecting and said it was a relationship thing going. That’s not my sister. No, no, no. When I saw my sister, she was – it looks like she was sleeping. It looks like she was sleeping. Her hair was still – she hair wasn’t comb. So the story doesn’t add up. It doesn’t add up at all.”
Marion Ali
“And you think this happened before morning?”
Cindy Rowland
“Yes, I think it happened before morning and that’s, I think it happened before morning because she was in her room on her.”
Marion Ali
“And she’s not normally there during the daytime?”
Cindy Rowland
“No, not in the day time. She would normally be up doing her the things that she normally do for her business.”
What’s also sinister about the incident is that the suspect, Miguel Encalada had apparently taken a selfie showing the bodies of the two victims in the same shot. Police are expected to review surveillance cameras that are thought to have captured the double homicide at the residence. Marion Ali for News Five.
