New Jersey Couple Wants FBI To Probe Son's Murder In U.S. Virgin Islands
SCOTCH PLAINS, N.J. (CBSNewYork) -- A Scotch Plains, N.J. couple is calling on the FBI to investigate after they say their son was murdered in the U.S. Virgin Islands.
As CBS 2's Alice Gainer reported Wednesday, the family wants to know who is responsible and claimed the local police aren't giving them any answers.
"I was downstairs and I received a phone call from my sister that said that our son had died," said Jim Malfetti.
Malfetti said how he and his wife found out about the death of their only son, James Malfetti III, in Saint John is just one of many things that puzzles them about the circumstances.
"The owner of the house had a contract with our son signed and said in case of emergency to contact us directly. He did not do that," Malfetti said.
James Malfetti III had been renting the guesthouse attached to a luxury property for months, Gainer reported.
On the morning of Jan. 18, the homeowners in the main house reported that they had been robbed. Cash, cell phones and a purse were missing.
But no one, the Malfettis said, bothered to check the guesthouse until more than 24 hours later, when the groundskeeper found the 41-year-old's body.
"He was stabbed in the neck and died in bed," Mrs. Malfetti said.
Thinking James wasn't home, the homeowner told the Malfettis he was waiting to see his car in the shared driveway before going to talk to him about what happened.
Police say James' car had been stolen, along with cash, a flat screen TV and his cell phone, Gainer reported.
The Malfettis say local police never even called them.
"We've got no autopsy, we've got no police report. We've asked for it constantly each and every day and all we get is, 'we have nothing.'"
And it is for that reason that they want the FBI to get involved.
"We don't want other parents going through what we are going through," Malfetti said.
For now, the family holds on to the only pieces of their son they have left, the miraculous medal he never took off and a Saint John bracelet. Both were still on his body when they went to identify him at the morgue.
"I try to divert my attention. I try to do different things but you see little things, you see pictures, you see smells, you hear things, and it's just -- that's our son."
Sen. Menendez has written a letter to the FBI asking for their assistance.
The Virgin Islands police released a statement saying the investigation continued as of Wednesday night, and that local FBI agents were assisting.
Check Out These Other Stories From CBSNewYork.com:
