Police investigate murder-suicide in Hartford apartment as city sees uptick in crime

HARTFORD, CT (WFSB) - Hartford police launched a homicide investigation after they found a man and woman shot dead in an apartment on Russ Street.

Officials first shared word of an investigation at 70 Russ St. around 8 p.m. on Monday.

A man, identified as 35-year old Irving Lollar of Hartford, and a woman, 24-year old Crystal Cooper of Hartford, were found dead in an apartment, according to police.

Police said family members requested a wellness check earlier in the evening.

Lollar and Cooper had recently moved to the area. The investigation revealed they were in a domestic relationship.

“Domestics are one of those situations, how do you prevent them? How do we know about them? We can’t be inside peoples’ apartments, so it’s unfortunate,” said Lt. Aaron Boisvert, Hartford police. “It’s been a rough year. Very unfortunate.”

Police said this incident was being investigated as a murder-suicide.

Police said the incident marked 21 homicides in Hartford during 2023, and the second domestic-related one over the past week.

The capital city is seeing an uptick in crime and domestic violence related incidents.

Last Monday, a 64-year-old woman was shot and killed by her partner in a domestic incident on Oakland Terrace.

Eyewitness News spoke with Interval House, which is Connecticut’s largest domestic violence agency. President and CEO Mary-Jane Foster said they’ve seen a 33-percent increase in need since the pandemic.

“We have seen some terrible, tragic cases here in the region in the last couple of weeks. And so that’s a real concern. Four homicides in just a couple of weeks is really more than anyone should have to bear,” said Foster.

“It’s just kind of messed up that the people in this community don’t get to enjoy the same situations as others,” said Elisha Bailey with the Blue Hills Civic Association.

The city’s youth spoke out about how upset they are over crime in the capital city.

“Should be more safe. More able to go outside and not in fear. Being able to go home at night and not worry about watching your back 24/7,” said Malike McDonoh with the Blue Hills Civic Association.

“We have to make our community a safe and decent place to live,” said Kelvin Lovejoy, Director of Community Organizing for the Blue Hills Civic Association.

“The numbers are huge. We are also seeing just anecdotally an intensity an increase in the intensity of the violence we’re seeing,” Foster said.

The uptick in crime comes as Hartford is getting closer to electing a new mayor.

“My vision broadly is about investment in neighborhoods and building real investments in our kids and education,” said Arunan Arulampalam.

Arulampalam just received the endorsement of Hartford Democrats. Eyewitness News asked how he plans to address crime if elected mayor.

“First I want to create an office of violence prevention strategy and coordinate all of our efforts around crime prevention to really take a hands on approach across the city to prevent crime before it happens,” Arulampalam said.

Interval House has a 24/7 hotline at 860-838-8467.

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