BROWARD COUNTY, Fla. – A 25-year-old man who was born in Broward County has been charged with murder in the death of a Connecticut man who was found dead Wednesday in a wooded area on the Jersey Shore.
Lawrence Dilione, 28, of Jersey City, New Jersey, has also been charged with murder in the fatal stabbing of Joseph Comunale, 26.
The Daily Mail reported that James Rackover, who was born James Arthur Beaudoin in South Florida, met the victim last Saturday at a club in New York City.
Police said Comunale went to Rackover's upscale Manhattan apartment building with both suspects and three women.
Police said the men got into a fight the next morning after the women had already left, and Comunale was stabbed multiple times.
Someone from the apartment unit later called the front desk to request a luggage cart, and a man was captured on surveillance video using the cart to take two pieces of luggage out of the building, the Daily Mail reported.
Police said Comunale's partially burned body was found inside a suitcase.
According to the Daily Mail, Rackover changed his last name after developing a close bond with celebrity jeweler Jeffrey Rackover, who designed Melania Trump's engagement ring.
The jeweler is said to have helped get the 25-year-old suspect an apartment in his building, and some neighbors told the Daily Mail that they believed the two were lovers.
Records show that James Rackover has a lengthy arrest history in Broward County dating to August 2007. He has been arrested in the past on various charges, including armed robbery, attempted robbery, burglary and possession of cannabis.
