Palm Beach County investigators say the husband shot his wife, then himself, after a domestic dispute early Tuesday.
LAKE PARK, FL — A man and his wife died from gunshot wounds after an early-morning shooting Tuesday outside a home on the 300 block of Palmetto Drive, the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office said. Deputies who responded around pre-dawn hours found the man dead and the woman critically wounded; she later died at a hospital.
Authorities identified the couple as Raymond D’Haiti, 58, and Nadege Cajuste, 44. Detectives said a domestic altercation preceded the gunfire and concluded that D’Haiti shot Cajuste and then turned the gun on himself. The case is being handled by the agency’s Violent Crimes Division. The shooting drew a heavy law enforcement presence to the residential block just south of Park Avenue as investigators documented the scene and notified relatives. Officials said the investigation is active as they examine statements and evidence to piece together the minutes leading up to the attack.
Deputies were called to Palmetto Drive at about 2:30 a.m. Tuesday. When they arrived, they found D’Haiti dead outside the home and Cajuste suffering from gunshot wounds, according to the sheriff’s office. Medics rushed Cajuste to a nearby hospital, where she died several hours later. By mid-morning, crime scene tape closed off the front yard and driveway while detectives photographed shell casings and marked items on the pavement. “She just felt stuck,” said the couple’s adult son, describing a troubled marriage that he said had weighed on his mother. He said Cajuste had returned from work and was planning to grab food when she was ambushed outside.
Relatives described a chaotic scene as family members inside the home realized what had happened and called for help. One son said his younger sister phoned him at work, and he raced to the house while dialing 911. He said he was told his mother died “at 3-something” despite efforts to save her. The sheriff’s office said the gunfire occurred after a domestic dispute but did not immediately release further details about what sparked it, how many shots were fired, or whether any prior calls to the address were on record. Officials said detectives are interviewing witnesses, collecting video from nearby homes, and coordinating with the Medical Examiner’s Office to confirm the official causes of death.
Lake Park, a small coastal town in northern Palm Beach County, has seen sporadic violent incidents this year but few that unfold within a single household. Neighbors along Palmetto Drive said they awoke to sirens and saw cruisers lining the block before sunrise. The home sits in a neighborhood of single-story houses near the town’s main corridor; by daylight, residents watched investigators work from behind the tape and waited for updates. Records show the sheriff’s office routinely responds to domestic-related calls countywide, and investigators often emphasize how quickly private disputes can turn deadly. In this case, authorities said, the violence happened in minutes and left several children without parents.
Detectives said they have identified all next of kin and are not seeking additional suspects. Autopsies will be conducted to determine exact manners of death. Officials did not immediately confirm whether a single firearm was recovered at the scene but said no threat remains to the public. The sheriff’s office is expected to release an incident report with additional details after evidence is processed. Any future court filings would likely involve probate and custody matters rather than criminal charges, since the suspected shooter is deceased. Investigators plan to review doorbell-camera footage and canvass the block again this week.
As daylight faded Tuesday, relatives gathered in the yard to console one another. The couple’s adult son remembered Cajuste as loving and quick to joke, saying his mother worked late and kept the family anchored. He said D’Haiti could be jealous and controlling, a dynamic he believes escalated overnight. “She was just going to get some food, and he just shot her right there,” he said. Neighbors left flowers near the driveway and watched deputies remove evidence markers before the tape came down in the evening.
As of Wednesday morning, the sheriff’s office said the case remains an active investigation with more information expected after autopsy results and a preliminary report from detectives. No additional briefings had been scheduled by officials, and the residential block on Palmetto Drive had reopened to traffic.
Author note: Last updated December 10, 2025.