Oct. 31, 2006 — A reward for information leading to an arrest in the murder of a former VIPD officer, killed Sunday while working as a security guard at a train station in Miami, has been raised to $21,000 by the security company she worked for.
According to an article in the Miami Herald, Chermaine Joseph-Quetel was killed shortly before 11 p.m. Sunday night as she patrolled the Martin Luther King Metrorail station. Wackenhut Security, which contracted Joseph-Quetel's services, announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest shortly after the murder.
Miami-Dade Police, which offered an additional $1,000 reward, have appealed to commuters who may have witnessed the shooting.
We know that there were commuters in the station at the time, Miami-Dade Maj. Angus Butler said Tuesday in the Miami Herald. We are begging them to come forward.
According to the article, Joseph-Quetel, 44, moved to the south Florida area five years ago after retiring from law enforcement in the territory. Police in Miami said that she was shot while making her rounds Sunday night. The article also states that Joseph-Quetel "never unholstered her firearm." Her husband, Edmund Quetel Jr., was at her side when she died. He, too, was a security officer at the station.
Police said that after shots rang out, a man in dark clothes was seen running away.
Joseph-Quetels daughter, Cyra Foy, 23, told the Miami Herald that her stepfather was distraught and that every time he talks about her, he starts crying.''
Police spokesman Sgt. Thomas Hannah said that Police Commissioner Elton Lewis was still trying to get information Tuesday concerning the case and offered condolences to Joseph-Quetels family. He said a sister of Joseph-Quetels works out of the Commissioners Office on St. Thomas. She was not available for comment Tuesday afternoon.
Joseph-Quetel moved to Miami in 2001 to join family. She had four daughters, a son and three grandchildren.
Her daughter was quoted as saying that she loved to cook traditional island cuisine and took food with her to work for co-workers. Foy said that her mother will be buried on St. Thomas.
With reports from the Miami Herald.
