Crime & Safety

Homicide Victim ID Expected Soon

Now that the holidays are over, Mount Pleasant Police are hoping to learn the identity of the young adult woman's body found early Christmas morning in the remains of a burned out house.

Mount Pleasant Police are hoping to get word, possibly this week yet, about the identity of the young woman's body found after an early morning Christmas Day fire.

According to Sgt. Eric Relich, the victim's remains were transported to the Milwaukee County Medical Examiner's office where they have the personnel to make dental comparisons. The holidays have probably delayed the process.

"The holidays have impacted the speed that would normally go into identifying a victim in a case like this," he told Patch. "We hope to have an ID very soon now that the holidays are over."

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South Shore fire fighters responded Christmas Day to calls of a fire at 5535 16th Street. When they arrived, flames and heavy smoke were visible from the front of the home. After the fire was extinguished, they located a body but could not immediately tell if the victim was male or female.

Neighbors that night told SSFD the homeowners moved to Texas a few months ago.

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By the next day, MPPD Chief Tim Zarzecki confirmed the victim was a young adult female and that the case was considered a homicide. The cause of the fire remains unknown and it is also unclear if the fire killed the young woman or if the fire was set to cover her murder. 

He also confirmed that while the homeowners had, in fact, moved to Texas, whomever was in the home was not there unlawfully.

Since then, a family in Kenosha has come forward to say that police gave them enough information for them to believe the young woman is 21-year-old Bianca Vite. A funeral for Vite was held New Year's Eve, and a Facebook page has been set up in her memory.

Pastor Tony Larsen from Olympia Brown Unitarian Universalist Church planned a candlelight vigil at 5 p.m. Wednesday in front of the house on 16th Street to honor the young woman's life, a tradition of sorts he leads whenever there's a homicide in the community.

According to Cherie Griffin from the Women's Resource Center, Larsen and the Racine Interfaith Coalition want to use the vigil as a moment to honor the victim's life and to call attention to the tragedy of a life lost.

"This is a way for the community to reclaim the streets and honor the life of a young woman, no matter the circumstances of her death," Griffin told Patch.

She did say that the Vite family believes their daughter and sister was killed by a boyfriend or ex-boyfriend, which would mark the death as domestic violence, which is why the WRC is involved.

"We don't know the identity of the young woman, but this is what the family believes," Griffin acknowledged. "And if that's true, then this is domestic violence so that's where we come in."

Larsen fell ill, however, so the vigil was cancelled though it still may be rescheduled.

As of Monday, police did not have any suspects in custody, but they have identified a person of interest and said they have interviewed that individual.


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