Haiti’s La Gonâve Island buries 2 young Stimphile sisters as arrests mount in double murder

Relatives, classmates and neighbors gathered Tuesday in the Picmy section of Anse-à-Galets on La Gonâve Island to bury two young sisters whose killings have shaken the community and drawn attention in Haiti and abroad.

Wilandia Stimphile, 7, and Wisberline Stimphile, 5, were laid to rest March 3 in small cream-colored coffins that mourners said symbolized stolen childhoods. Inside the church and along nearby streets, cries filled the air as their parents held each other in grief. Their mother, Roselor Stimphile, wept as relatives and neighbors struggled to console the family.

The funeral came a day after Haitian National Police arrested Janel “Tiga” Louissaint, identified by local authorities as a key suspect in the Feb. 18 killings. The sisters were found dead in a wooded area near their home after their mother returned from the market, authorities said.

Eight people have been detained in connection with the case. After questioning, four — including Louissaint — remain in custody as the investigation continues.

The killings have sparked protests and renewed calls for stronger protections for children in a country facing deepening insecurity. While much of Haiti’s violence has been concentrated in the capital, residents of La Gonâve say crime is spreading to areas long considered relatively insulated.

On Feb. 27, a child advocacy organization led a peaceful march from Bas Lumière National School to the site where the girls’ bodies were discovered, demanding accountability and justice.

Local officials have urged calm as the judicial process unfolds. For many on the island, however, Tuesday was about mourning.

As the coffins were carried out of the church, silence fell over the crowd before giving way to sobs — a community united in grief and in its call for answers.

Watch how the island came together in mourning — and why this case has sparked nationwide demands for accountability and child protection.

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