Mecca Lavette Vaccaro, 47, of Monongahela, Pennsylvania, died on March 23, 2022, after being shot during a domestic dispute at her Park Avenue home. She was taken to Penn Highlands Mon Valley Hospital and pronounced dead. Mecca was born January 17, 1975, in Pittsburgh and was described as devoted to family and faith, with a love of art and a background that included cheerleading and work in daycare, grocery and restaurant jobs; she was most recently employed on an assembly line making cookware.

Witnesses said an argument with her husband, 65-year-old Dennis Vaccaro, escalated; Mecca reportedly struck him several times and pulled a hooded sweatshirt over his head before he went inside to retrieve his keys and then obtained a handgun. Two gunshots were heard and Mecca was found with gunshot wounds to her abdomen. Dennis Vaccaro was charged with criminal homicide and initially claimed self-defense; investigators reported no visible injuries on his body to support that claim.

The family recalled Mecca’s kindness and creativity and described how her children were affected by her death. Does anyone have information about Mecca, her life in Monongahela, or the hours leading up to the shooting that could help clarify what happened?