Plantation, FL: Plantation police: Dead woman was likely victim of murder-suicide

Guilouse Cenatus, 37, thought to have been shot by estranged husband
April 27, 2010|By Alexia Campbell and Sofia Santana, Sun Sentinel
PLANTATION — A woman who was shot dead at an apartment complex Monday night was likely killed by her estranged husband who later committed suicide, police said.

Guilouse Cenatus, 37, was found dead on the sidewalk outside an apartment building in the Plantation Gardens complex, located in the 7600 block of Northwest Fifth Street, Police Detective Phil Toman said.

Several people at the complex said it looked like Cenatus was shot as she ran out of an apartment in her underwear about 9 p.m.

At about 9:24 p.m., authorities were called about a suicide at the Pompano Beach Cemetery at 400 S. Federal Highway. Cenatus' estranged husband, Wilbert Lormeus, 39, had shot and killed himself, police said.

It appears that the estranged couple died in a murder-suicide, Toman said.

Detectives are awaiting autopsy and ballistic test results.

The couple were married in March 2003, according to state records.

Lormeus was facing trial Aug. 6 for a child abuse charge in Boynton Beach, records showed. The charge stemmed from Lormeus striking his 9-year-old son Feb. 26 with a belt on the inside of his arm, leaving a welt, police said. Lormeus, arrested two days later, admitted to the beating, saying it was a form of discipline, according to his arrest report. His son told police it wasn't the first time Lormeus struck him with the belt.

Lormeus told police he struck his child for "horsing around with a younger sibling" that ended up with that sibling being hurt, the report said.

The couple had recently lived with three children at the picturesque townhome community of Parkside Village in Boynton Beach, where neighbors recalled a spat within the last month between Guilouse Cenatus and Wilbert Lormeus.

Cenatus came by to drop off two of her children with Lormeus, then sped off after arguing outside their home. It seemed she had moved out with two of the three children about a month ago, said a neighbor, Katarina Lucas, who was shocked to learn about the murder and suicide.

"Oh, my god, I can't believe it. So, what's going to happen to the kids now?" she said.

Another neighbor said he saw Lormeus cleaning his car and talking on the phone Monday and he seemed fine. He said the husband and wife usually kept to themselves.

Staff Writers Erika Pesantes and Jerome Burdi contributed to this report.