Orlando woman’s death is homicide
The death of a 27-year-old Orlando woman in Cocoa Beach has been ruled a homicide, the Brevard County Medical Examiner’s Office said.
Jessica Erausquin’s body was found Oct. 16 on the side of the road in the 200 block of Rose Drive. Officials with the medical e x a m i n e r ’s office said Erausquin died of blunt-force trauma to the head.
Cocoa Beach police have not identified any suspects.
Erausquin graduated in May from Keiser University with a degree in forensic investigations.
Friends said while Erausquin was determined to succeed in the classroom, she was also quick to help classmates.
“If one of us had trouble studying, Jessica was very willing to stay up many nights with us to study,” said Crystal Lopez, who graduated from Keiser with Erausquin. “‘ We were all going to pass.’ That was her mind-set.”
Friend and classmate Victoria Arndt said she became very close with Erausquin in January while they were studying.
“She’s not considered just a friend — it’s more of a family member,” Arndt said. “It puts into perspective the reality of the world out there. It’s scary to know how crazy it is.”
Erausquin wanted to go on to get her master’s degree and eventually become a forensic nurse who would work with assault victims, said Arndt.
A funeral for the native of Queens, N.Y., will be today in New York. A family member in New York reached last week declined comment.
Arndt and Lopez are trying to plan a memorial service for friends in Florida.
They also have started a GoFundMe account to help her family pay for funeral expenses.
As of Thursday, it had raised $320 out of the $2,000 goal.
Two days before her death, Lopez and Erausquin talked on the phone about job prospects.
“It was almost like our thing,” Lopez said. “We wanted to both succeed in our field.” Lopez wants justice for her. “It would help my friend rest in peace,” she said.
Lopez also recalled funny moments with her friend.
Lopez s a i d E r a u s q u i n ’s phone would always go off during class, causing vibrations that would shake the table, startling her classmates and serving as a comic relief from the stressful work.
Erausquin would laugh it off and apologize for the scare.
“It would go off at random moments like in the middle of intense lab study where we were all dressed from head to toe in [scrubs] and then there it went,” Lopez said. “It sounded like the room was shaking. Very funny memories.”
Anyone with information on Erausquin’s death is asked to call the Crimeline at 800-423-8477.