Friday, 29 Mar 2024

Virginia Man Is Fatally Shot in Front of Fiancée, and Suspect Is Woman's Estranged Husband

After a daylong manhunt, law enforcement arrested a 25-year-old man accused of shooting his estranged wife’s fiancé as the couple and her three children walked through a shopping plaza on Monday, officials said.

Shortly before 2 p.m., Zane Christian approached Rico Turner, 27, and allegedly shot him in the parking lot of Lakeside Shopping Center in Salem, Virginia, according to a Salem Police press release obtained by PEOPLE.

When police arrived, Turner was taken to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead. Christian fled the scene and multiple law enforcement agencies began working together to find him.

“After investigating the scene, Salem Police filed charges against Christian that included Malicious Wounding, Reckless Handling of a Firearm and three counts of Child Neglect,” police stated in its release. “The Felony Murder charge was added after Mr. Turner’s passing.”

Police added that the three counts of child neglect were filed because three children were present at the time of the shooting.

The following day, shortly before noon, the U.S. Marshals and its Task Force officers in neighboring West Virginia arrested Christian without incident, they stated in a separate press release.

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“Christian is currently in custody in Jackson County, West Virginia, awaiting extradition back to Virginia,” the release stated.

It was unclear whether he had appeared in front of a judge or obtained an attorney yet.

According to an arrest warrant obtained by TV station WSLS, Christian allegedly used Snapchat while on the run.

“Sgt. Miller has personally observed a recent Snapchat video where this user posted a video talking about sniping people,” the warrant stated, according to the station. The warrant also revealed that Christian is the estranged husband of Turner's fiancée.

Meanwhile, family and friends of Turner are devastated and have created a GoFundMe for his fiancée Emily and her three children, as well as another account for his son Kaleb from a separate relationship.

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