Prosecutors on Thursday charged an Uptown man with first-degree murder in connection with the smothering death of his wife last month. Brian Rosin, 34, was ordered held in lieu of $100,000 bail. Judge Arthur Willis said Rosin must submit to electronic monitoring if he can post a $10,000 deposit bond.
Shortly before 4 p.m. on April 28, Rosin called 911 to report that 25-year-old Isabel Rosin had apparently died in their apartment on the 1200 block of West Carmen. Police bodyworn cameras recorded Rosin as he told arriving officers that he covered his wife’s face with a pillow because she was screaming during a schizophrenic episode, prosecutors said.
Isabel Rosin was taken to Weiss Hospital in critical condition. She died early the next morning. Brian Rosin was arrested by police who responded to his 911 call, but detectives released him two days later while they awaited autopsy results.
The medical examiner ruled late last week that her death was a homicide by smothering, according to records. Brian Rosin was taken back into custody this week.
During a bond hearing Thursday, Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said the Rosins ingested a hallucinogenic drug on the afternoon of April 28. A defense attorney later identified the drug as mushrooms. No illicit drugs were found in her system at autopsy, Murphy said, but the blood tests did not look for hallucinogens.
An examination of Brian Rosin’s phone records revealed that he sent a series of text messages to his wife’s phone that narrated the events leading up to her death, Murphy said. Rosin’s texts allegedly said he felt angry that he “wasted” a trip on drugs and said he could not take her to a hospital due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
According to Murphy, Rosin said his wife began screaming, laughing, singing, crying, and tried to take off her clothes after ingesting the drug. She “threw him into a table, striking his back and spilling soda onto a computer,” Murphy said.
Rosin allegedly grew angry with her behavior and the potential damage to the computer. He also became concerned that her screams might cause neighbors to think that he’s a domestic batterer, so he forced her onto a couch and placed a pillow over her head, Murphy continued.
“The victim struggled and clawed,” Murphy said. “She screamed anytime he put a pillow on her face, so he put a second pillow on.”
Isabel Rosin eventually stopped breathing and he called 911. Murphy said Brian Rosin’s last text message to his wife said, “I am sorry.”
A neighbor told police that they heard Isabel Rosin scream for help and say something like “you hurt me,” but they did not think the situation was serious, Murphy said.
The Rosins, who were married for three years, had no children.
Brian Rosin’s defense attorney, Mark Kusatzky, called Isabel Rosin’s death “a sudden and intense tragedy.” He said both of the Rosins took medications for psychiatric conditions.
“They had a loving relationship where they helped each other,” Kusatzky said.
