Man charged in double murder of Florida newlyweds, called pastor and confessed: Officials
Authorities in West Palm Beach, Florida say a man called his pastor and confessed shortly after he shot and killed a man and a woman in a double homicide. That's according to a Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office report.
The man has been identified as 46-year-old Sony Josaphat. Family members say the couple killed were newlyweds.
The report also states that Josaphat drove three miles east to the sheriff's headquarters, where he reportedly told a deputy he had killed a man and a woman after "anger took over" him.
Deputies took him into custody a short time later on two counts of first-degree murder. He remained in custody Tuesday after Circuit Judge Gregory Keyser on Sunday ruled that Josaphat be held without bail.
Court records show that the judge assigned Josaphat an attorney from the county Public Defender's Office. As a matter of policy, the office does not comment on active cases.
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According to sheriff's reports, deputies responded shortly after 8:30 a.m. Saturday to a shooting on the 1200 block of Summit Run Circle, about 5 miles southwest of Palm Beach International Airport. There, they found a man and a woman who had been shot to death.
Sheriff's investigators did not disclose the names of the people who died, citing a 2018 Florida constitutional amendment modeled after California's Marsy's Law. The amendment allows either crime victims or their relatives to request that there names be withheld from public reports.
A sheriff's office document indicated that the shooting was domestic but did not specify the nature of Josaphat's relationship to the man and woman. Television news reports, citing family members, indicated that the slain man and woman were newlyweds.
The arrest report indicates that Josaphat previously lived in the home, which is north of Forest Hill Boulevard and west of Military Trail, and but had not done so for more than a year.
One person told investigators that Josaphat randomly showed up at the home from time to time and exhibited controlling behavior. One woman said she was bringing groceries into the home Saturday morning when Josaphat approached and asked if two people were there.
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The woman said Josaphat followed her to the front door, greeted residents inside and a few moments later pulled out a pistol and began shooting, firing multiple shots.
Josaphat reportedly later told an investigator that he was angry because of one of the home's residents had ignored him and blocked his telephone calls.
He said he drove to the home with the intention of picking a person up to take them to breakfast, but noticed on his arrival that a surveillance camera was being installed by the front door. He reportedly told the deputy that "anger took over" as he put a full 17-round magazine into a Glock 17 pistol.
After carrying out the killings and retreating to his vehicle, he noticed that the Glock magazine was empty, the report said.
Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at[email protected] and follow him on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at@JuliusWhigham. Help support our work:Subscribe today.