NORTH LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Broward County Sheriff’s Office deputies released a recording Wednesday of a 911 call that captured a family’s desperation during a tragedy at the hands of a man they had once trusted at their home.
A frightened man in North Lauderdale had called 911 for help early Saturday morning after a panicked girl woke up to the suffering of her mother, Isabelle Joseph, and her maternal grandmother, Maguy Pouye.
6 p.m. report:
“A guy came with a knife,” the man told the 911 dispatcher, according to the recording.
Surveillance video from a Ring camera showed the burglar who had stabbed Joseph and Pouye was in the home at 1842 Runners Way for less than 5 minutes, according to relatives and deputies.
“They are losing a lot of blood!”
BSO detectives later identified the vicious burglar as Vital Joseph, a former resident of the North Lauderdale home whose romantic relationship with Pouye ended about a year ago.
“My mom got stabbed in the head,” a man told a 911 dispatcher.
The recording of the 911 call also captured an intimate moment of prayer.
“Hold my hand,” the man told a victim. “Lord! Please, Lord Jesus!”
The first responder’s knock at the door interrupted the prayer. North Lauderdale Fire Rescue personnel took the women to the Broward Health Medical Center.
Isabelle Joseph underwent surgery and survived the injuries. Pouye died.
“My heart dropped,” Pouye’s grieving sister Kimberly Gaynor said about hearing the shocking news.
BSO deputies announced on Sunday that Florida Highway Patrol troopers had helped Palm Bay Police Department officers to arrest Vital Joseph, 56, their murder suspect, on Saturday night.
Records show Vital Joseph was still awaiting extradition to Broward County on Wednesday in Brevard County.
“He is a coward,” said Jean-Pierre Gaston, Pouye’s cousin.
Court records show Vital Joseph has an arrest record in Miami-Dade County. Police officers arrested him in 2013 in North Miami for sexual battery and the case was dismissed in 2019. He was set to face charges of first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and burglary of a dwelling with a battery.
Detectives asked anyone with information about this or other cases to call Broward County Crime Stoppers at 954-493-8477 to remain anonymous.
Surveillance video