Shot to death at the Galleon House Inn in Charlotte Amalie on Aug. 29, Maireni Heredia Tiburcio’s body was discovered on a bloodied bed covered by a comforter and a pillow pressed over her head. In court documents this week, forensic investigators detailed finding soot and a hole in the pillow, evidence that a gun had likely been fired through it to muffle the sound.
A single 9mm shell casing was recovered from the floor, but no firearm was found.
According to the documents, surveillance video showed the 42-year-old arriving at the inn the previous afternoon and waiting on the patio until her estranged husband, 54-year-old Tizoni A. Mahoney, joined her. Witnesses told police Mahoney had phoned the hotel several times earlier that day, asking to rent a room “for a few hours.” Staff checked the couple in under his name, and the two walked together to their first-floor room. By 9:33 a.m. the next morning, Mahoney was seen on video leaving the hotel alone
When they failed to check out by 11 a.m., documents said staff used a master key to enter the room and found Tiburcio unresponsive. One employee told police she initially tried to nudge her awake before realizing she was lying in a pool of blood. Emergency medical technicians confirmed Tiburcio had no vital signs at 12:26 p.m.
Police said there were no signs of forced entry. Valuables, including jewelry, money, and an Apple Watch, were left untouched inside the locked room, ruling out robbery. Detectives noted rigor mortis had begun to set in when they arrived.
Not long after, Mahoney appeared at the Virgin Islands Police Department’s Richard Callwood Command. In court documents, officers said he was crying, hitting himself, and repeating, “she worked voodoo on me, she work voodoo on me.” A VIPD sergeant reported that he also blurted, “they kill my wife, I going to kill them, I swear I going kill them,” while muttering about a court order keeping them apart. Once dispatch confirmed he was the suspect, Mahoney was detained. He refused to give a statement when read his rights.
A Pattern of Violence
The homicide capped a summer of escalating abuse. Tiburcio told police that the violence began almost immediately after their June 16 wedding. She said Mahoney beat her unconscious at least once, dragging her from a shower and choking her. He became enraged over trivialities — once accusing her of infidelity after noticing fingerprints on furniture. He allegedly told her she was hiding affairs with both his and her family members.
Tiburcio’s children told police they were unaware their mother had even married Mahoney.
She also reported that Mahoney repeatedly drove her to remote areas of St. Thomas and pointed a firearm at her head, telling her he could kill her. On several occasions, he drove her to the airport and threatened to have her deported. On July 3, she said, she leapt from a moving rental car to escape him, fearing for her life.
Police arrested Mahoney later that month on domestic violence charges. Despite the severity of the allegations and the law requiring judges to weigh the threat to victims in bail hearings, a magistrate judge on July 9 allowed him to post $15,000 bail with conditions: find employment, avoid alcohol and drugs, and stay away from Tiburcio’s home and workplace. On Aug. 13, Superior Court Judge Denise M. Francois recused herself from the case, citing her personal ties to Mahoney and his family.
Mahoney remains in custody at the Bureau of Corrections. According to the probable cause fact sheet, prosecutors have listed nine charges in total, including first- and second-degree murder, multiple counts of assault, firearm and ammunition violations, contempt of court, and possession of a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school. His arraignment is set for Sept. 19, when the court will formally read the charges and enter a plea.
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