Detectives are investigating the killing of a 32-year-old mother of 7 children after she was fatally shot in her Arizona neighborhood, according to authorities and her husband.
Maria Lewis left her home in Mesa to go on a walk around 2:30 a.m. on Saturday, February 28, and never returned, her husband, Albert Mendivil, told KPNX.
Mendivil said she was shot while she was outside of a neighbor’s home, according to the TV station.
“I don’t know what happened,” Mendivil, who had been inside his house with their children, told the TV station. “I don’t know what made her go over there.”
The couple’s children are between the ages of 2 and 12, according to a GoFundMe page created by Lewis’ mother-in-law, Carmela Leal.
In a statement to Us Weekly on Tuesday, March 3, Mesa Police Department Detective J. Macias confirmed that officers responded to a local home the early morning of February 28, when they received a call requesting a welfare check.
“Once on scene, officers located an adult with a gunshot wound,” Macias said.
The adult, identified in the statement as Lewis, “was later pronounced deceased on scene.”
A potential suspect has not been named by police as of the afternoon of March 3.
“Detectives have identified all involved parties and are actively working on the investigation,” Macias said. “More details will be released as they become available.”
Mendivil told KPNX that Lewis was “an amazing woman” who was “bright” and had a “beautiful smile,” he added.
“We had a good life together,” Mendivil said.
Lewis’ family told AZ Family that she was killed by her neighbor. Her death is listed as a homicide by a medical examiner, the outlet reported.
The person who lived at the home where Lewis was allegedly shot works for the Arizona Attorney General’s Office, according to Fox 10 Phoenix.
The Arizona Attorney General’s Office told the outlet that the employee has worked for the office since February 2016.
“He was placed on administrative leave this weekend pending the Mesa Police Department’s investigation,” the spokesperson told Fox 10 Phoenix.
It is unclear whether any arrests have been made in connection with Lewis’ death.
The GoFundMe page created by Lewis’ sister-in-law was established to help support her children and legal fees in connection with her death.
“Heart goes out to that family,” David Barney, one of Lewis’ neighbors, told AZ Family while reacting to the tragedy.
Mesa is about a 20-mile drive southeast from Phoenix.
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