Family In Mourning Over Death Of FHP Trooper In Haiti
MIAMI (CBSMiami) – Family members of a Florida Highway Patrol trooper from North Miami are still trying to figure out why Trooper Jean Barthelus was killed in Haiti.
FHP said two men flagged down Barthelus on a roadside and then shot and killed him Friday evening in Port-Au-Prince. Bathelus had gone to Haiti to visit his ailing wife.
"We're just torn a part," said his cousin Dorothy Borgelin, "We don't know what to say, we don't know what to do. If it was here maybe we'd say there was a motive, we don't know what the motive is and that's what is killing us. We don't know if somebody was trying to rob him."
Borgelin said Barthelus was the pillar of the family. She said he moved here from Haiti to start a new life for himself and the rest of his family. He worked hard and bought a home for his mother in North Miami and that's when they said he moved her and several other family members over here to live.
"That's my last son," said Emilie Barthelus, his mother. "He is a good person. He has a good heart. He is here to help his community."
Florida Highway Patrol Troopers visited the Barthelus home in North Miami all weekend long to pay their respects and grieve the great loss.
Trooper Barthelus was an eight-year veteran of the FHP. He joined FHP in December 2004 and was assigned to Troop E-Miami.
FHP said Barthelus is survived by his wife, daughter, mother and several brothers and sisters.
