St Lucie County Sheriff’s Office, Florida mourned the loss of Deputy Clayton Osteen & Deputy Victoria Pacheco. They were laid to rest earlier today, and have left behind a 6-week-old son, Jayce.
Both Osteen and Pacheco died by suicide, and the tragedy has risen to near ‘Romeo & Juliet’ proportions. This is what we know…
The Florida Deputies Were In A Relationship
Mark Herman, Harris County Constable Precinct 4
Deputies Clayton Osteen and Victoria Pacheco St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office were in a serious relationship and became parents to their son, Jayce Osteen on November 22, 2021. According to a GoFundMe page started by Kelly Riddle, they were both joyous and excited about being first-time parents.
The baby was healthy and beautiful, the family had a lot of love. And yet, Riddle writes, “Tragically, for reasons completely unknown and totally out of character, Clayton took his own life on December 31st, 2021.”
According to CBS7, Osteen’s suicide attempt on New Year’s Eve, shortly before midnight was not entirely successful. He was rushed to the hospital and placed on life support. On January 2, he was removed from life support and passed away. He was 24.
Grandmother Likens Loss To ‘Romeo & Juliet’
Pacheco, 23, killed herself two days after the death of her boyfriend, on January 4, leaving the families and friends reeling.
Pacheco’s grandmother Bernice Bartolini wrote on Facebook, “My heart is so sad I thought I was hurting before I lost my beautiful granddaughter. Tragic Romeo and Juliet story. They are now together forever. This loss is so painful for everyone so please be kind and watch your family keep them close to your heart.”
The couple was laid to rest on January 8th, as per a tweet by St Lucie County Sheriff’s Office.
Today we say goodbye to our brother and sister, Deputy Clayton Osteen and Deputy Victoria Pacheco. May you rest in peace.
We greatly appreciate the outpouring of support and love from our fellow law enforcement agencies and the community.
— Sheriff Ken Mascara pic.twitter.com/tcaEVwERjW
— St. Lucie Sheriff (@stluciesheriff) January 8, 2022
Florida Deputies’ Baby Jayce To Be Adopted By Close Family Member
In the only piece of bright news to come out of this tragedy, the son of the Florida deputies, Jayce will be adopted by a close family member.
The GoFundMe campaign’s goal has also been surpassed. The goal was for $10,000 but as of writing this article, the campaign has generated a heartening $112,386 for baby Jayce.
Kelly Riddle also updated the campaign page with news of Osteen and Pacheco being laid to rest, side by side, writing, “Clayton and Victoria were laid to rest side-by-side this afternoon. Tonight we celebrate and share memories. Sunday we rest. Monday begins the work of making sure this never happens again. Love and peace to all.”
Instagram is heartbroken, and there’s underlying anger as well, for no one could see or stop what happened to these heroes.
Wrote one Instagram user, “Let’s also talk about how the man was a Marine vet who, statistically, I can safely assume, was suffering from PTSD and god knows what else from his time in the Corps. And, again, I can safely assume, that the VA did jacks**t for him.”
Another Instagram user agreed, writing, “she most likely had postpartum depression and his death was too much. All speculation at this point. Sad all around”.
RIP heroes.
Clermont PD extends our sincerest condolences to the St. Lucie County SO mourning the loss of Deputy Clayton Osteen & Deputy Victoria Pacheco. Our thoughts & prayers are with their families, friends & our brothers & sisters of the St. Lucie County SO during this difficult time. pic.twitter.com/qxYc3f4gTw
— Clermont Police (@ClermontPD) January 5, 2022
