VA state police: Man accused of killing estranged wife, injuring son in Waterbury killed himself

WATERBURY, CT (WFSB) - A double shooting turned deadly in Waterbury early Tuesday morning.

Waterbury police reported on Wednesday that they Solomon Roberts Sr., 44, shot and killed himself in Virginia.

The victims were identified as 45-year-old Catherine Roberts and 19-year-old Solomon Roberts Jr.

Solomon Roberts Sr. was described as the estranged husband Catherine Roberts and the father of Solomon Roberts Jr.

Waterbury police were notified by Virginia State Police that Solomon Roberts Sr. was spotted traveling through their jurisdiction around 10:55 a.m. on Tuesday. The vehicle he was in was said to be the same one that left the homicide scene.

When troopers conducted a motor vehicle stop, Solomon Roberts Sr. was found to be dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Solomon Roberts Sr. had a strong history of violence, Waterbury police said.

The shooting at 100 Mark Ln. was first reported around 5 a.m. on March 7, police told Channel 3.

The location was the Pine Village Condominiums.

Inside, Catherine Roberts was said to have been shot multiple times.

Solomon Roberts Jr. was hurt and given medical treatment. He was transported to a local hospital and was listed in stable condition.

A police officer at the scene said the suspect remained at large. The suspect had left before officers arrived.

Waterbury’s police chief described the incident as a case of domestic violence, and that the suspect was no stranger to that.

“There were previous charges for domestic violence,” said Chief Fernando Spagnolo, Waterbury police. “This person, the suspect, is a convicted felon. Has prior gun offenses, prior drug offenses, prior violent crime offenses, has been arrested more than seven times in the past several years, and had some significant domestic violence issues within the family.”

Police said they had strong leads on where the suspect might have gone.

“[He] should not have had a gun,” said Waterbury Police Chief Fernando Spagnolo.

“We want to require a 10-day waiting period before purchasing a firearm,” Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz said.

Elected officials were in the Brass City to promote new firearms legislation from the governor.

Another part of the proposal is making family violence convictions a disqualifier for a pistol permit.

The police chief said the suspect in the murder got ahold of the gun illegally.

“We are working with members from the family to try to determine how that occurred,” said Spagnolo.

Spagnolo said enacting this legislation could have prevented the murder, by placing outside eyes on the suspect in the form of more a supervised release.

“That potentially may have had the judicial system or law enforcement or some nonprofit organization provide services for this person that would have been looking out for the situation to occur and combat it,” said Spagnolo.

The victim’s family said they were too distraught to speak. They were at the scene Tuesday morning and awaited information from police.

Anyone with information about what happened was asked to contact Waterbury detectives at 203-574-6941 or Crime Stoppers at 203-755-1234.

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