Holly MatkinFayetteville, NC – A Fayetteville police officer shot his wife repeatedly before turning the gun on himself inside the couple’s home late last week, according to investigators.
The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation (NCSBI) said in a statement on Wednesday that a preliminary investigation “shows the couple died as the result of a murder-suicide, WEIS reported.
The Fayetteville Police Department (FPD) responded to FPD Officer Domingo Tavarez-Rodriguez’s home in the 1300-block of Vandenberg Drive at approximately 6p.m. on April 28 after Officer Tavarez-Rodriguez didn’t show up for work after his regular set of days off, The Fayetteville Observer reported.
“When he failed to report and the supervisors were unable to contact him by phone, that’s what prompted them to go by and check on him at his residence,” FPD Chief Kemberle Braden said during a press conference later that night.
When police arrived at the 53-year-old officer’s two-story home in the River Glen neighborhood, they found him and his wife, 44-year-old Yenitza Arroyo Torres, shot to death inside, The Fayetteville Observer reported.
Officer Tavarez-Rodriguez and his wife were newlyweds, having just married on Oct. 13, 2022.
The military veteran joined the FPD in 2021.
Investigators said the medical examiner’s preliminary autopsy report revealed Torres had been shot multiple times, WEIS reported.
Officer Tavarez-Rodriguez died from a single gunshot wound, according to the report.
“Based on the preliminary investigation and the medical examiner’s preliminary findings, there is no reason to believe anyone else was involved and there is no reason to believe there is a threat to the community or to law enforcement,” the NCSBI said.
Investigators have not released any additional information.
The investigation into the incident remains ongoing, WEIS reported.
