Philip G. Vitrano, 86, Vero Beach

Police: Man admitted to killing woman, putting her body in pickup

SEBASTIAN — A 56-year-old man was jailed after police said he admitted killing his fiancée and abandoning her body in a pickup at a Walmart Supercenter parking lot on Tuesday. "He transported her to Walmart to make it appear he was not involved," Sebastian police Cpt. Tim Wood said. Wood said officers arrested Michael Despres, of the 400 block of Briarcliff Circle, Sebastian. An Indian River County sheriff's jail deputy confirmed that Despres was charged with premeditated first-degree murder. Despres' booking information had not been uploaded to the Indian River County Sheriff's Office website as of 8 p.m. Tuesday. Officers identified the victim as Jeanine Bishop, 67, of Sebastian. A motive for the homicide was not immediately available. Police responded ...

Construction workers find man’s body inside Porta Potty

VERO BEACH — Two construction workers were shocked and saddened after discovering the body of a man inside a Porta Potty Tuesday morning. "I'm getting chills just talking about it," said John Digiulio, an employee for Liberty Insulation and Fireproofing. "It's a sad day in Vero Beach." The man has not been identified and his age was not available. It was unclear how long the man had been in the portable restroom. Foul play was not suspected in the man's death, Vero Beach police spokesperson Master Officer Darrell Rivers said. Digiulio, 44, and his work partner, Mark Gidron, 56, both of Fort Lauderdale, were performing renovations inside of West Bay Trading Company on the corner of 21st Street and 6th ...

DeSantis signs bills that aim to improve early childhood education, literacy

VERO BEACH — Hoping to boost kindergarten readiness and create better school accountability statewide, Gov. Ron DeSantis signed two bills into law aimed at improving early childhood education and literacy. DeSantis, speaking in Vero Beach on Tuesday, signed House Bill 7011 - Student Literacy, and House Bill 419 - Early Learning and Early Grade Success. Both bills, which are now state law, require screenings and progress monitoring for children enrolled in the Voluntary Pre-kindergarten Education Program. "When I took office, our kindergarten readiness was 42 percent. We need to do better than that," DeSantis said at a 1 p.m. news conference held inside of the Childcare Resources Center, an early childhood education and development non-profit organization in Vero Beach. "HB ...