A vacation in paradise ended in horror after a U.S. tourist died after jumping from a high-rise hotel balcony in Aruba — only for police to discover his wife dead inside their hotel room moments later.
According to the Aruba Police Force, officers were called to the St. Regis Aruba Resort in Noord after reports that a man had fallen from a balcony at the luxury property.
When officers arrived, they found the man unresponsive. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and investigators later determined that he had jumped from the top floor of the hotel.
As part of the investigation, police searched the man’s hotel room — where they made a second chilling discovery. Inside, officers found the body of a woman who was also deceased.
Authorities described the incident as a “regrettable and unusual case.”
In a follow-up statement, police identified the man as B. Jozic, 45, originally from Bosnia, and the woman as C. Jozic, 52, originally from the Philippines. Both were residents of the United States. Police did not release their full first names.
Local outlet Diario, a Papiamento-language newspaper in Aruba, reported that investigators are treating the case as a possible murder-suicide, though authorities have not publicly confirmed the cause of the woman’s death.
Adding to the mystery, a Facebook account under the name “Boris Cristina Jozic,” believed to belong to a married couple who owned a gym in Illinois, posted photos from Palm Beach, Aruba, just days before the deaths. Palm Beach is located near the hotel where the bodies were found.
A GoFundMe has since been launched to support the family of Cristina Gatia, whose photos closely resemble images of the woman shared on the Jozic Facebook account. The fundraiser lists her date of death as Jan. 4 — the same day Aruban police discovered the two bodies.
“She was a proud mother of five, a loving grandmother, a devoted daughter, loving sister, cherished aunt, and a dear friend to so many,” the organizer wrote. “She poured her heart into her family and was deeply passionate about health and fitness, always encouraging others to become the best version of themselves.”
As of publication, the fundraiser has raised more than $30,000.
The investigation remains ongoing as authorities work to piece together what led to the tragic deaths.