Police: Man high on cocaine killed wife, Good Samaritan
MESA, Ariz. (KSAZ) - A man on his way to work in east Mesa stopped to help a stranger and ended up dead, but he's not the only victim. The woman he tried to assist was also killed.
Both victims were shot to death along Loop 202 near McKellips Road.
Mesa Police say the husband surrendered after shooting and killing his wife and the other man that didn't know her. Authorities say the male victim was a good Samaritan -- a construction worker who was on his way to his job site.
The lives of a couple in the midst of a domestic violence incident and a construction worker on his way to work intersected at a roundabout and the confrontation took a deadly turn.
Police say the couple was in the Range Rover SUV when it crashed around 4:00 a.m. Tuesday. The wife exited the vehicle and the driver of the pickup truck entered the roundabout, then stopped. Officials believe he was trying to help the woman, but being a good Samaritan in this case cost him his life.
According to police, the husband opened fire, shooting his wife. She died at the scene. The man was also shot. He was rushed to an area hospital and later died.
Around the corner, the good Samaritans' co-workers went about their day, wondering why one of their own didn't show up for work.
"They gave him a few phone calls early in the morning. He's usually a punctual guy. He's usually the first one out here at 5:00 in the morning," said a man who did not want to be identified.
As detectives pieced together the deadly shooting, down the road, the masonry workers pieced together the walls at a new home construction project. The crew thought it was odd that one of their guys didn't show up. It wasn't until they got a close look at the pickup truck around the corner that they realized it was their missing co-worker's vehicle.
"I was lost for words. I didn't know what to say," said a co-worker. "It's just hard to believe that somebody I was working with.. is dead."
Police say the wife had initially called 9-1-1 to report that she and her husband were in a wreck and she was on the phone with dispatchers throughout the deadly confrontation.
The shooting suspect has been identified as 38-year-old Christopher Wright. He has been charged with two counts of first degree murder, one count of theft of transportation, and a count of escape.
Authorities say he used an AR-15 rifle in the shooting, and told officers he would do it all again. After being taken into custody he tried to escape.
A judge set Wright's bond at $2 million.
The female victim is Nasbah Laverne Wright. She was 41-years-old.
The Good Samaritan has been identified as 49-year-old Tomas Ornelas.