MICRONESIA. (THECOUNT) — Rachelle Bergeron, has been identified as the American lawyer shot dead in Yap, Micronesia Monday night, according to reports.
Bergeron, 32 or 33, was shot dead as she returned home from a run with her dog in the Pacific nation.
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The killing has shocked the tiny island of Yap, home to just 11,000 people, where Bergeron had been prosecuting criminals in her role as acting attorney general.
ABC News reports Bergeron’s husband was inside the couple’s house baking brownies with a local child the couple was helping care for when three shots were fired at Bergeron outside, killing both her and her dog, according to family friend Amos Collins, reports Dailybeast.
Collins added he doesn’t know who shot Bergeron but that some of those she had prosecuted might hold grudges.
“Yap’s spirit is broken and our pride and reputation is tarnished,” said Constantine Yowbalaw, the director of youth and civic affairs for Yap State.
The couple was reportedly about to celebrate their one-year wedding anniversary and hoped to start a family soon.
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Geo quick facts: The Federated States of Micronesia is a country spread across the western Pacific Ocean comprising more than 600 islands. Micronesia is made up of 4 island states: Pohnpei, Kosrae, Chuuk and Yap. The country is known for palm-shaded beaches, wreck-filled dives and ancient ruins, including Nan Madol, sunken basalt temples and burial vaults that extend out of a lagoon on Pohnpei – wikipedia.