Man shoots his child's mom a day after she got restraining order against him and then kills himself
A man from Fresno, California, killed the mother of his child and then took his own life on the morning of May 4, just one day after the victim got a restraining order granted against him. Authorities received calls about a murder-suicide at Burgan and Inyo in the southeast of Fresno a little after 9 am. They arrived at the scene and found the woman dead from a gunshot wound in the bedroom of a residence.
The victim was identified by the Fresno Police Department as 26-year-old Kimieona Holt, while the male suspect was identified as 40-year-old William Rivera, both hailing from Fresno.
ABC 30 reported that authorities then tracked down an armed Rivera a block away from the home, but say that he pointed the handgun to his temple and then fled. They were able to catch up to him at Kings Canyon and Armstrong shortly after.
Fresno police chief Jerry Dyer told local news outlets: "He stopped. He turned. He faced the officers. He was still armed with that handgun and he placed it up to his head, fired one round and took his own life."
Chief Dyer informed that the suspect, Rivera, murdered 26-year-old Holt, who was the mother of his one-year-old toddler. The baby was not a witness to any violence that took place on that day. A judge had granted Holt a domestic violence restraining order on May 3 but Rivera had violated the order the very next day and killed Holt.
It was reported that Holt had called a sister but the phone line went silent in the middle, prompting concerned family members to immediately alert the police. Dyer said: "What we have in our city is a small child that's going to grow up without its parents." Authorities added that Rivera had a history of domestic violence.
Authorities announced less than a month ago that domestic violence cases in the country have gone up by 35 percent as compared to last year and this is something that Nicole Linder of the Marjaree Mason Center has seen firsthand. She told ABC 30: "This was a no-win situation and now we have a child without a mother or father."
Holt's mother told authorities that she was a foster parent to many children in the Fresno area. Chief Dyer said: "We do know there are a lot of kids out there who are going to be hurting because their foster parent being killed."
Victims of domestic violence seeking safe housing and/or services can drop by the Marjaree Mason Center Administration Building, at 1600 M Street, or call the 24-hour hotline at (559) 233-HELP (4357).