SOUTH GULF COVE, Fla. — The neighbors of the man the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office said murdered his wife in the South Gulf Cove community on Sunday, said they knew him as a friendly person.
The sheriff’s office said 46-year-old Rogelio Prestol admitted to shooting and killing his wife Jhesandra on Jan. 26, after an argument over infidelity. Prestol called 911 to report the shooting to dispatchers.
According to a probable cause affidavit for his arrest, Prestol told investigators about two months before the shooting, he started to suspect his wife was cheating on him. Prestol said he checked internet logs on their WiFi and told deputies he learned that Jhesandra had been talking to someone on TikTok and Telegram.
The document states Prestol demanded Jhesandra unlock her phone and show him her bank account, as he believed she was sending money to someone online. She refused, and Prestol began threatening her with a pistol. The sheriff’s office said two children were in the home at the time, and their son began pleading with his mother to comply with Prestol’s orders.
The sheriff’s office said Jhesandra tried to escape through a window, and thats when Prestol opened fire, killing her.
Investigators said when they got to the home Jhesandra was found dead in a walkway. Deputies said Prestol called his brother, who convinced him not to take his own life after the shooting, and to turn himself in.
Fox 4 spoke with Prestol's neighbors Tyler and Cindi Starr, who said he and his family moved in about four months earlier, and knew him as a friendly person who they never expected would be accused of murder.
“He seemed like a really nice guy,” said Cindi. “Usually I have like feelers you know, never once got an inkling that he would be capable of something like this.”
The Starrs said they never heard gun shots, but knew something had happened when several deputies showed up on their street.
“I noticed that there were flashing lights right outside our door,” said Tyler Starr. “There's like 50 cops outside our door, so like any other citizen we ran to our window and looked out and there was a line of police, with shields AR15’s, they had shotguns and I noticed they were going right down our road to our neighbor’s house.”
The Starr’s told Fox 4 they would see Prestol waiting at the bus stop with his kids. They said their thoughts are with the children who were in the home at the time of the shooting.
“Both those kids no longer have parents any longer and you know it's a tragedy for them,” said Tyler.
“It’s everyone's prayer at this moment that they can just get the help that they need and get the therapy that they are probably going to need,” said Cindi.
Prestol is charged with one count of second-degree murder and is being held without bond.
