Pregnant woman held against her will and shot dead by boyfriend who then turned gun on himself
A pregnant Nebraska woman was held against her will and shot and killed by her boyfriend even as police officers tried to desperately break down the door of the room they were in to save her.
According to Norfolk Daily News, 23-year-old Oriana Elizabeth Arcos was fatally shot by 23-year-old Marquise Edwards on May 28, before he turned the gun on himself.
Speaking at a press conference, Norfolk Police Chief Don Miller revealed that officers responded to a residence on 1406 Country Club Road at 10:10 am on Tuesday on reports of a possible disturbance after dispatchers were informed by Arcos' family member that she was being held against her will by Edwards in the apartment.
On arrival, officers had verbal contact with Edwards through the closed apartment doors and were told by the 23-year-old that Arcos was not inside. He refused to open the doors.
But officers knew she was inside because of phone contact and after repeated attempts to make additional contact failed, worried for her safety, they obtained a key to the apartment and entered to check on her.
As soon as they entered the apartment, they heard two gunshots emanating from behind a locked bedroom door. When they forced entry into the room, they found both Arcos and Edwards with gunshots caused by a .40-caliber handgun that was later recovered from the scene.
Arcos died immediately, with Madison County Coroner Joe Smith revealing that she did not suffer. "With respect to Oriana, her death was essentially instantaneous. There was no suffering involved. There’s nothing anybody on scene could have done to save her."
However, Edwards was still alive when officers broke inside, though he was described to be in "bad shape." He was transported to Faith Regional Health Services for treatment, where he eventually succumbed to his injuries.
It was not the first time that deputies from the department had responded to the residence over the past week, with the police blotter indicating they had received three separate but related calls.
The first, concerning a domestic disturbance, came on Saturday, May 25, at 4:02 pm, with the second, pertaining to a welfare check on a 23-year-old female, coming a few hours later at 7:28 pm. A third call came in at 2:20 am on Sunday from Arcos' mother, who told dispatchers that "the boyfriend broke door and she is locked in bathroom."
Arcos was in the second trimester of her pregnancy, and the couple had recently found out about the sex of the baby, Miller said, adding, "It’s a very unfortunate, tragic situation, and both families are suffering the loss of a family member."
Their death has been ruled a murder-suicide.