Nicole Vega, 36, was found dead from a single gunshot wound to the head in her Dunmore, Pennsylvania, home after police were called late on the night of January 3, 2025. A Scranton High School graduate and mother of three girls ages 4 to 11, she was discovered upstairs near a pool of blood with a loaded handgun nearby; authorities ruled her death a homicide.

Officers encountered Nicole’s husband, 37-year-old Maxwell Hawkins, in the kitchen, intoxicated and behaving erratically. A man named Michael Schwarz removed the children from the house before police arrived after receiving calls from Hawkins that evening. Hawkins initially faced charges of child endangerment and public drunkenness.

Investigators say the gunshot trajectory did not match a self-inflicted wound. Surveillance, witness statements, forensic evidence and text messages allegedly showing Hawkins’ anger over an alleged affair led prosecutors to charge him with criminal homicide; he was held without bail at Lackawanna County Prison awaiting a preliminary hearing.

If anyone knew Nicole Vega, her family, or saw activity near Veterans Drive on January 3, 2025, please come forward with information.