The northern Haitian city of Cap-Haitien was gripped by bewilderment and horror on January 6, 2026, following the grim discovery of three deceased family members inside a stationary vehicle. The white Toyota Corolla, parked at the ‘Barrière Bouteille’ southern entrance point since January 4th, contained the bodies of Ralph Gustave, Wilnica (or Wiltana) Gustave, and their nine-year-old son Wildensky Rolph Gustave.
Local residents were alerted by an increasingly potent odor emanating from the car’s interior, despite its proximity to a police station. Initial examinations conducted by Justice of the Peace Serge Fénélus revealed no visible trauma, gunshot wounds, or stab marks on the victims, deepening the mystery surrounding their sudden demise.
This incident marks the fifth such discovery in Haiti’s North department since late December 2025, following two similarly decomposed bodies found in a vehicle in Charrier on December 17. While investigators have eliminated carbon monoxide poisoning due to the vehicle’s operational condition, the pattern of unexplained deaths has generated widespread alarm throughout the region.
Authorities have launched a comprehensive judicial investigation to determine the cause of these mysterious fatalities as communities remain unsettled by the troubling recurrence of such incidents.