ORLANDO, Fla. (TCN) — Deputies recently arrested a 28-year-old man who allegedly followed a girl as she was walking to see a friend and fatally stabbed her.
According to Orange County Sheriff John Mina, on July 4, deputies responded to an apartment complex, where they found 13-year-old Rose Dieujuste in a utility closet with stab wounds. Mina said she was partially clothed and “barely alive.” Officials transported the victim to the hospital, and she died from her injuries.
Mina said the girl had been “senselessly and brutally murdered.”
Investigators believe Dieujuste was on her way to hang out with a friend at another building in her complex at the time of the attack. The friend reportedly found Dieujuste’s phone and shoes before reaching out to the victim’s family. According to Mina, Dieujuste’s family later located the girl unresponsive in a utility closet and attempted CPR.
In surveillance footage, investigators observed a suspect, later identified as Jerry Dorisme, following the girl. Authorities also reportedly recovered knife packaging at the scene and later saw Dorisme on video from a nearby store purchasing the weapon police suspect he used in the killing.
Mina said the suspect did not know the child but lived in the area. He acknowledged that Dorisme has allegedly been seen watching girls in the neighborhood, and nearby residents were concerned about him.
Officials arrested Dorisme on July 11 on a charge of first-degree felony murder. The suspect reportedly “did not open his mouth” during the eight hours he was with the sheriff’s office.
According to Mina, the victim also showed signs of sexual abuse, which investigators are still working to confirm.
Dorisme remains held in the Orange County Jail without bond.
During a press conference, the sheriff also mentioned Dorisme was previously accused of lewd and lascivious molestation on a child in 2020.