The St. Croix Poisonings: The Unsolved Crimes of the “Obia Man”
Introduction
The St. Croix Poisonings were a series of five cyanide deaths that occurred on the island of St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands between 1984 and 1988. Investigators believed the victims were deceived by an unidentified confidence trickster who presented himself as an “Obia Man,” a person claiming to possess supernatural knowledge or spiritual powers. Rather than attacking his victims openly, the unknown offender allegedly gained their confidence, learned about their financial worries, persuaded them to obtain large amounts of cash and then directed them to participate in supposed spiritual rituals.
The mysterious man was never publicly identified or arrested. Authorities suspected that he exploited beliefs associated with Obia, sometimes spelled Obeah, while convincing victims that he could remove evil spirits, reveal buried treasure or solve serious financial problems. The rituals reportedly included drinking a special potion. Investigators later determined that the substance consumed by the victims contained cyanide, a rapidly acting poison that can prevent the body from properly using oxygen.
The deaths occurred in three separate incidents, but each scene contained remarkably similar details. The victims had recently obtained or withdrawn substantial amounts of money. Their clothing was wet with seawater, there were few or no outward signs of a struggle, and the money disappeared after their deaths. These similarities led police to believe that one offender, or a closely connected group, had orchestrated all five killings.
The Death of Haig Gilbey Caesar
The first known victim was 38-year-old Haig Gilbey Caesar. On the morning of May 24, 1984, a young girl traveling to school discovered Caesar inside his automobile on St. Croix. The vehicle appeared to have gone off the road, creating the initial appearance of a traffic accident or sudden medical emergency. Investigators found no obvious evidence that Caesar had fought with another person, and his body appeared to have been inside the vehicle for several hours.
An autopsy revealed that Caesar had died from cyanide poisoning. Police later learned that he had been in contact with a mysterious man who claimed to practice Obia. According to Caesar’s wife, Rosmund, the man convinced Caesar that three large containers of valuable ancient coins were buried on property owned by the family. The supposed treasure was said to be protected by powerful spirits that had to be removed before the coins could be recovered.
Caesar reportedly borrowed money and removed funds from family accounts without fully explaining what he was doing. He ultimately paid approximately $100,000 in cash to the purported spiritual practitioner. The scheme allegedly required Caesar to return to the location of the supposed treasure and drink a potion that would drive away the spirits guarding it.
Instead of revealing treasure or removing a supernatural presence, the potion contained cyanide. Caesar died after consuming it, and the unidentified man disappeared along with the money. The unusual circumstances of Caesar’s death were preserved in police records, but the full importance of the case did not become apparent until four more people died under strikingly similar conditions.
The Deaths of Edsel Striden and Carmen Torres
Edsel Striden and Carmen Torres were a St. Croix couple who operated a small neighborhood bar. Hoping to improve or expand the business, they obtained approximately $54,000. Investigators believed that someone learned about the money and persuaded the couple to take part in a ritual or private meeting.
On June 7, 1988, Striden and Torres left their home together in a pickup truck. A daughter later recalled seeing Striden place a small bottle into his pocket before the couple departed. That detail became especially significant after investigators discovered that both victims had ingested cyanide.
Torres was later found alive but critically ill near a roadway, less than half a mile from the location where another victim would be discovered later that year. She died while being transported to a hospital. Striden was found dead inside his pickup truck near a beach.
Their clothing was saturated with seawater, although investigators found no clear evidence that they had drowned. Autopsies established cyanide poisoning as the cause of both deaths. The $54,000 the couple had obtained for their business was missing.
The wet clothing, missing money and absence of visible violence suggested that the couple had voluntarily met someone they trusted. Investigators considered the possibility that they had been instructed to enter the sea as part of a cleansing ritual before drinking the fatal potion. The bottle seen in Striden’s possession may have contained the poison, although the exact sequence of the ritual was never conclusively established.
The Deaths of Radha and Krishnadath Maharaj
The final known incident occurred on November 18, 1988. Radha Maharaj and her husband, Krishnadath Maharaj, operated a small grocery store on St. Croix. Radha’s daughters from an earlier marriage helped the couple with the business. Although the family had been supporting itself, the Maharajes began experiencing financial pressure after obtaining money intended to expand the store.
In the months before their deaths, the couple received private telephone calls from a strange man. Family members recalled that the caller usually asked to speak directly with Krishnadath and that the conversations were deliberately kept secret. The couple became increasingly tense and avoided explaining their plans to their daughters.
Approximately three weeks before the deaths, Radha and Krishnadath obtained $25,000 in cash from relatives. Radha reportedly said that the money had to be paid to a particular man, but she refused to provide a complete explanation. She suggested that the family would soon understand what the payment was intended to accomplish.
On the evening of November 18, Radha left the family home alone, something her daughters considered highly unusual. She rarely went out by herself at night. Approximately 30 minutes later, Krishnadath drove away in the opposite direction. Investigators believed the couple may have been given separate instructions and sent to different meeting locations.
Shortly after 9:30 p.m., police responded to what had initially been reported as a minor traffic accident. Radha’s vehicle had coasted to a stop near a beach. She was unconscious and appeared to be suffering from a serious internal medical emergency, but officers saw no obvious wounds or indications of a physical attack. Radha died while being transported to the hospital.
Approximately 16 miles away, Krishnadath was found dead beside a beachfront road. He was wearing only shorts, and his clothing was soaked with seawater. Radha’s dress was also saturated. The $25,000 the couple had brought with them was gone.
Autopsies determined that both Radha and Krishnadath had died from cyanide poisoning. Their deaths initially raised questions about suicide or a private dispute between the couple, but the missing money and similarities to the earlier poisonings strongly suggested murder. Family members rejected the idea that the two had willingly planned to end their lives.
Confirmed Victims
- Haig Gilbey Caesar, 38 — Died on May 24, 1984, on St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. He was found inside a car that had apparently gone off the road. His cause of death was cyanide poisoning. Approximately $100,000 that he had reportedly paid to an alleged Obia practitioner disappeared.
- Edsel Striden — Died on June 7, 1988, on St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. He was found dead inside his pickup truck near a beach. His clothing was soaked with seawater, and an autopsy determined that he had died from cyanide poisoning.
- Carmen Torres — Died on June 7, 1988, on St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. She was found critically ill near a roadway and died while being taken to a hospital. She had been poisoned with cyanide, and her clothing was saturated with seawater.
- Radha Maharaj — Died on November 18, 1988, on St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. She was found unconscious in or near her stopped automobile close to a beach and died while being transported to a hospital. Her death was caused by cyanide poisoning.
- Krishnadath Maharaj — Died on November 18, 1988, on St. Croix in the United States Virgin Islands. He was found beside a beachfront road approximately 16 miles from the location where his wife was discovered. He died from cyanide poisoning, and his clothing was soaked with seawater.
The Pattern Connecting the Crimes
Investigators identified a consistent pattern linking the five victims. Each victim or couple possessed access to a substantial amount of money. Caesar reportedly paid approximately $100,000 to the purported Obia practitioner. Striden and Torres had obtained $54,000 for their bar, while the Maharajes carried approximately $25,000 borrowed from relatives. In every case, the money vanished.
The victims also appeared to have entered the situations voluntarily. There were no clear indications that they had been abducted, restrained or violently overpowered. Instead, they seem to have followed instructions given by someone they trusted or feared. The offender may have persuaded them that secrecy was essential for the ritual to succeed, preventing them from warning relatives or asking outsiders for help.
Seawater was another important connection. Striden, Torres, Radha Maharaj and Krishnadath Maharaj were found with wet clothing near beaches or coastal roads. Investigators theorized that the supposed ritual included bathing, entering the ocean or washing with seawater as an act of purification. After completing that portion of the ceremony, the victims may have been instructed to consume a potion presented as spiritual medicine.
The cyanide allowed the killer to avoid an obvious physical confrontation. Victims could become confused, weak, unconscious and critically ill within a short period. Their vehicles might drift from the road or stop unexpectedly, creating the appearance of accidents or sudden natural deaths. By separating couples or sending them to isolated locations, the offender could take their money and leave before police understood that a crime had occurred.
Obia and the Killer’s Deception
Although the crimes became widely known as the St. Croix Voodoo Murders, investigators distinguished Obia from the Haitian and Louisiana religious tradition commonly called Voodoo. Obia is a broad collection of spiritual and folk practices found in parts of the Caribbean. The beliefs themselves did not cause the deaths. Police believed that a criminal merely used the language and imagery of spiritual practice to manipulate vulnerable people.
The offender apparently understood how to create fear, hope and secrecy. He promised Caesar that hidden treasure could solve his financial concerns. In the later cases, he may have offered assistance with failing or indebted businesses. By learning what his victims desperately wanted, the killer could present himself as the only person capable of providing it.
The use of supposed spirits also gave the offender a powerful psychological weapon. A victim who doubted the ritual could be warned that questioning the practitioner would anger supernatural forces or ruin the promised reward. The demand for cash could be explained as an offering, a payment for spiritual services or a necessary part of the ceremony. Once the victims surrendered the money, they were given poison disguised as a potion.
The Investigation
St. Croix police investigated the deaths as related poisonings and sought the unidentified man who had contacted the victims. Detectives examined the missing cash, business loans, mysterious telephone calls and supposed spiritual rituals. They also tried to determine whether the same person had approached all three households.
The investigation was complicated by the secrecy surrounding the meetings. The victims apparently shared few details with relatives, leaving police without a complete description of the man. The offender may have used a false name, changed his appearance or left the island after each killing. Because the victims met him willingly, the crime scenes contained little conventional evidence of an assault.
Authorities believed the offender was an experienced confidence trickster rather than a supernatural practitioner driven by religious motives. His central purpose appeared to be financial gain. The ritual was a carefully constructed method of obtaining money, isolating victims and persuading them to consume poison without force.
No one was charged with the five deaths. The man popularly called the “Obia Man” remained unidentified, and investigators were unable to establish whether he had died, left the Virgin Islands or continued committing similar crimes elsewhere. No additional victims have been officially confirmed as part of the St. Croix series.
An Unresolved Serial Poisoning Case
The St. Croix Poisonings remain disturbing because the killer apparently murdered through persuasion rather than direct violence. He studied the fears and financial problems of his victims, offered false hope and convinced them to participate in the very acts that caused their deaths. The repeated disappearance of large sums of money revealed the practical motive concealed beneath the claims of spirits and ritual power.
Haig Caesar, Edsel Striden, Carmen Torres, Radha Maharaj and Krishnadath Maharaj were business owners and members of families who believed they were pursuing opportunities or relief from financial pressure. Instead, they encountered a calculated offender who used secrecy, manipulation and cyanide to take their money and eliminate them as witnesses.
Despite the connections among the crimes, the identity of the killer has never been established. The five deaths therefore remain an unresolved chapter in the criminal history of the United States Virgin Islands. The unanswered questions surrounding the mysterious telephone calls, missing cash, seawater-soaked clothing and fatal potions continue to define the case decades after the final poisonings occurred.
