Murder Suspect Vincent Romanino Dies in Pinellas County Jail 13 Days After His Arrest, Sheriff's Office Says
Detention deputies found Vincent Romanino, 45, unresponsive in his cell on Thursday, October 29, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said; he was pronounced dead at a hospital and investigators say the circumstances were consistent with suicide.
A man awaiting a bond hearing on a first-degree murder charge has died in the Pinellas County Jail. Vincent Romanino, 45, died on Thursday, October 29, after detention deputies found him unresponsive in his cell at approximately 3:39 p.m. with a bedsheet tied around his neck and secured to a stool, the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office said in its release. About 25 minutes earlier, at 3:14 p.m., deputies conducting a well-being check had observed Romanino showering inside his cell, the Sheriff's Office said.
Romanino was transported to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:03 p.m., according to the Sheriff's Office. Based on the evidence, investigators determined the circumstances were consistent with suicide, the release said. His next of kin has been notified and the investigation remains ongoing, with nothing further released at this time.
Romanino, a former City of Tampa employee, had been arrested in October 2023 in connection with the 2022 shooting death of 46-year-old Dominick Paternoster, according to the Sheriff's Office account. He was indicted on a first-degree murder charge earlier this month and booked back into jail on October 16, and he was scheduled for a bond hearing next week, the release said.
