A Massachusetts mother was killed by her estranged husband in an apparent murder-suicide Thursday, weeks after being granted a restraining order against him, the Essex District Attorney’s Office says.
Lynn police responding a report of a shooting on Mudge Street Thursday afternoon found the bodies of 31-year-old Yajaira Suarez and 46-year-old Jessie Mitchell. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
Investigators believe Mitchell fatally shot Suarez inside her home before turning the gun on himself.
On April 25, Suarez had been granted a one-year restraining order against Mitchell, the DA said in a news release Friday.
Suarez’s family members said she was a devoted mother and a retired Marine who had received her Masters of Business Administration while serving overseas in Japan and working full-time with her two young children.
“She gave part of her life for her country and other part to forge the road for her kids to success,” said Suarez’s younger sister Danna Suarez. “She was finally starting to see the fruits of her hard work, and her life was cut short.”
Suarez was a Lynn English High School graduate, a former Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) student and beloved community member, her family said.
Suarez’s cousin Windry Figueroa said the family is trying to focus on her memory and protect her kids.
“Everyone loved her. Everyone. She lit up a room wherever she went,” Figueroa said. “Unfortunately, we lost somebody that we really love and depended on.”
Essex District Attorney’s Office, Essex State Police Detectives Unit and Lynn police are investigating the case.
The medical examiner will determine an official cause and manner of the deaths.
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