A tourist from the United States visiting Aruba jumped from the balcony of a high-rise hotel and died, authorities said. When police later searched his hotel room, they found his wife dead inside.
The Aruba Police Force said officers responded to a report of a man who had fallen from a balcony at the St. Regis hotel in Noord. Responding personnel determined the man showed no signs of life, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators concluded he jumped from the hotel’s top floor.
During a subsequent search of the man’s room, investigators discovered a deceased woman. Police described the situation as a “regrettable and unusual case.”
In a later update, authorities identified the man as B. Jozic, 45, originally from Bosnia, and the woman as C. Jozic, 52, originally from the Philippines. Police said both were U.S. residents, but did not release their first names.
Diario, a Papiamento-language newspaper in Aruba, reported that police are investigating the incident as a murder-suicide.
A Jan. 1 Facebook post from an account named “Boris Cristina Jozic,” which appears to belong to an Illinois couple who own a gym, includes multiple photos tagged in Palm Beach, Aruba—near the hotel where the deaths occurred.
A GoFundMe has since been created to benefit the family of Cristina Gatia, whose photo resembles the woman shown on the Jozic Facebook account. The fundraiser lists her date of death as Jan. 4, the same day Aruban police discovered the Jozics.
“She was a proud mother of five, a loving grandmother, a devoted daughter, loving sister, cherished aunt, and a dear friend to so many,” the organizer wrote. “She poured her heart into her family and was deeply passionate about health and fitness, always encouraging others to become the best version of themselves. Whether as a mother, mentor, or friend, Cristina showed up with love, strength, and compassion.”
So far, the GoFundMe has raised over $30,000.
