Man Arrested for Fatal Shooting of 33-Year-Old Woman in St. Thomas

Authorities in St. Thomas have arrested 37-year-old Simon Rawlins Jr. on charges of homicide following the shooting death of Mardette Ward, aged 33, last Friday evening.

Responding to a distressing 911 call made at 6:01 p.m., the Virgin Islands Police Department (VIPD) was alerted to an incident in which a woman reported her friend had been fatally shot and was unresponsive. The event took place in the neighborhood of Thomasville, where the suspect, identified by the caller as Rawlins, allegedly fled the scene immediately after the incident.

Emergency responders, including law enforcement and medical technicians, arrived promptly to discover Ward suffering from a gunshot wound to her upper body. She was pronounced dead at the scene by 6:15 p.m.

While the motive for the shooting remains unclear, the VIPD launched a vigorous manhunt in both Thomasville and nearby Bovoni areas, leading to Rawlins’ arrest without further incident at around 10:00 p.m. the same evening. He is currently detained with bail set at $1 million.

The investigation is ongoing, spearheaded by the VIPD’s Major Crimes Unit. Authorities are appealing to the public for any information related to the case. Informants can contact the VIPD at (340) 774-2211, the Criminal Investigation Unit’s Major Crimes Division at (340) 642-8449, or report anonymously via Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or online.