A pupil in Florida on Tuesday witnessed the grisly murder of her mother while in an online class. The 10-year-old Warfield Elementary student was participating in a Zoom class with her colleagues when her mother was shot and killed.
The shooting occurred in Indiantown at 8 am about 30 miles southwest of Port St. Lucie.
Maribel Rosado-Morales, 32, was shot multiple times in front of four of her children including the 10-year-old and two cousins, according to the Martin County Sheriff’s office. The suspect, Donald J. Williams, was arrested and taken into custody after attempting to flee.
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Williams is related to none of the children and he faces charges of first-degree murder as well as other felony offenses, reports NBC News citing Martin County Sheriff William Snyder.
Snyder told reporters at a news conference on Tuesday that the 10-year-old’s teacher was also a witness to the fatal shooting.
“The teacher’s online — I’ve never done a Zoom with children, so I’m picturing there are other children on — and the teacher can see the children. The teacher said she heard a commotion, heard profanity,” he said.
When the teacher realized there was some type of domestic altercation and still could see the child online she muted her button so nobody has to hear it and then she saw the 10-year-old put her hands up to her ears.
“Almost immediately after the child put her hands up to her ears, the computer screen went blank. We know the computer was hit with a projectile,” the teacher said, according to Snyder.
Williams was arrested after the driver of the bus he was riding in to flee got suspicious and called 911.
Last year officers were at the home following issues of domestic violence, Snyder said. He also said officers found a gun in a bag on the bus belonging to Williams and he made a “full confession.”
According to investigators, Williams was in the house to confront Rosado-Morales with something to do with a video. “And then later we learned there was a conversation about Facebook. He said she actually started to smile at him and he became enraged and shot her,” Snyder said.
Rosado-Morales and Williams previously dated.
A spokesperson for Martin County School District said their “deepest sympathies and condolences go out to the family and children who were witnesses to this heartbreaking and senseless tragedy.”
“The incident is still under active investigation by law enforcement, and we will continue to respect the privacy of the teacher and our students,” the district added.
