Man Allegedly Followed Girl, 13, Before Raping and Stabbing Her, Leaving Victim for Dead in Closet: Police

Rose Dieujuste's devastated brother found her clinging to life in a utility closet after she'd been brutally stabbed

Thirteen-year-old Rose Dieujuste was doing what so many kids do when she walked from her home in a Florida apartment complex to her friend’s home on July 4 to hang out.

But she never made it.

Now a grand jury has indicted a man who is accused of “senselessly and brutally” raping and murdering the young teen charging him with first-degree murder and rape, State Attorney Andrew Bain announced on Wed., Aug. 28.

A grand jury indicted Jerry Dorisme on charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping with intent to inflict bodily harm or terrorize, sexual battery and attempted sexual battery, the state attorney said in a release.

The charges stem from July 4, when Rose was walking to her friend’s apartment in another building at the Palmetto at Lakeside complex in Orlando, Orange County Sheriff John Mina said at a July 12 press conference.

“Her friend found Rose’s cell phone and shoes in the staircase in that apartment building and reached out to Rose’s family,” Mina said.

The friend told Rose's older brother, Jean Renal Dieujuste, that "she saw her [shoes] and her phone on the stairs but she was not there," the brother wrote in a GoFundMe.

The victim's brother said he was frightened, and he and others knocked on doors and checked until they made the grim discovery.

Deputies who responded to frantic 911 calls found Rose in the closet “partially naked,” Mina said. “She had been stabbed and was barely alive.”

She was rushed to a local hospital where she died from her injuries.

“She should not have died this way,” Mina said. “My heart aches for her family and her friends and her loved ones. What we can do now is provide justice for this family moving forward.”

A witness at the complex reported seeing a male leaving the building where Rose was found, he said.

Video at the complex allegedly showed Dorisme “following at a distance behind Rose as she walked through the complex to her friend’s building,” Mina said.

At the murder scene, detectives found the packaging of a 12-inch kitchen knife believed to be the murder weapon, Mina said.

Detectives later found video of Dorisme allegedly “buying that same kitchen knife” from a nearby store moments before the slaying “that was used in the murder,” he alleged.

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Dorisme was arrested on July 11. 

On Aug. 6, his public defender filed a motion of incompetency, WFTV 9 reports.

His public defender did not immediately respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment.

His trial is scheduled to begin on Dec. 2.

“Rose’s murder shook our community and our agency,” Mina said. “Any time a child is murdered, we all collectively grieve. I’m a father. Our detectives are all parents, and this is very, very hard on them, and of course, the community. And we can’t even imagine the pain and anguish that Rose’s family and loved ones are going through right now.”

In 2021, Dorisme was arrested on a charge of lewd and lascivious behavior on a child, Mina said. That charged was reduced to child abuse, according to Mina. Dorisme pleaded no contest and was sentenced to a year and a day in prison.

Orange County deputies encountered him in June when calls came in about a man walking down the street with a knife, Mina said.

Dorisme allegedly punched three officers when they tried to arrest him. Officers enforced the Baker Act, which places people believed to suffer from mental illness in a mental health treatment facility for up to 72 hours.

Dorisme was familiar with the area and had been allegedly seen watching girls, Mina said.

“They were definitely concerned about him,” Mina said.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

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