At least one person has been arrested in connection with the murder of American prosecutor Rachelle Bergeron on a tiny Pacific island state, local authorities said Monday.
Henry S. Falan, the governor of Yap, announced that “arrests have been made” in the Oct. 14 shooting of Bergeron, who served as acting attorney general for the remote island.
“The next stage in the investigation will be the court proceedings as the state moves toward the final stage of conviction,” Falan said, adding: “No names will be issued by the authorities at this time.”
Bergeron, 33, was gunned down in front of the home she shared with her husband as she returned from a jog with her dog, who was also killed.
Her husband, Simon Haemmerling — whom she wed last year — was inside the home baking brownies at the time of the shooting and raced outside at the sound of three gunshots.
“I just kind of fell by her, not really thinking about anything else,” Haemmerling has said.
Bergeron was brought to the hospital, where she succumbed to her injuries.
The Wisconsin native moved to the island — which is part of the Federated States of Micronesia — in 2015 after a stint as a human rights lawyer in New York.
Authorities have stayed mum about a possible motive in her shooting.
Family and friends have said she had an incredibly dangerous job on the island, battling sex traffickers and domestic abusers, who may have held grudges against her.
She had received so many threats that she was looking forward to returning to the US with Haemmerling, friends have said.
The FBI has said its Honolulu division is helping Yap authorities with the investigation.