Two long-time St. Croix calypso performers – Kasaun "K-Force" Baptiste and his adopted son, Jose "The Mighty TNL" Navarro – were found dead in Baptiste’s Estate Whim residence on Wednesday. The cause of death is not yet known.

Baptiste, 35, was crowned Captain of Travel and Style in the 2010-11 Christmas Festival, and 24-year-old Navarro took the same prize the following year. Navarro also won the Junior Calypsonian crown in 2004 and 2005, and Baptiste has won an array of prizes over the years.

These two young men were best known for their love of V.I. culture expressed in original songwriting, and the abrupt loss has shaken many in the community who hope to keep safe from the territory’s violent crime by staying busy with wholesome, cultural activities.

"It is a blow and a shock to us because they both came out of our organization," said Camille "King Derby" Macedon on Thursday afternoon.

Baptiste started learning music through Macedon’s nonprofit Calypso Inc. at around the age of 7 or 8, competing as a child and then as an adult, he recalled. Navarro followed suit a few years later, after Baptiste adopted him, developing a name in his own right among St. Croix calypsonians, Macedon said.

"It is very hard to digest. I don’t know him or either of them to have any enemies," he said. "K-Force was very popular with people, so it was a big blow.”

“The children miss him,” Macedon said. “He was really a role model for them and would do almost anything to help out. He helped decorate the (Calypso Monarch) stage every year. He designed outfits. … Everybody wants to know what happened and who is responsible," he said.

Baptiste’s father, Express Band bandleader Al Baptiste Sr., said Thursday the news had come as a shock and he is waiting for more information to help plan what to do next.

"We are still waiting for the autopsy right now. We just want to know what happened," said the senior Baptiste.

Police discovered the deaths Wednesday in a home in Estate Whim while responding to reports of a foul odor.

According to VIPD Public Information Officer Melody Rames, the call from a "concerned citizen" came in to the 911 center at 3:10 p.m. Officers arrived on the scene and found the two bodies in "an advanced state of decomposition." For that reason, the case cannot, at this time, be classified as a homicide.

Rames said the autopsy had not been performed yet and a cause of death may not be determined right away.

"It is a process that needs to be gone through and there are no definite times," Rames said.

Asked whether there were any signs of burglary or violence, Rames said those details were part of the ongoing investigation and she would not go into the specific details.

The case is under active investigation by detectives from the Major Crimes unit. Anyone with any information is urged to call detectives at 1-340-712-6077 or 1-340-712-6037. Information can also be called to 911 or the anonymous tip service, Crime Stoppers USVI, at 1-800-222-8477.