Veronica Jean Cica, 22, was shot and killed at her Battle Creek, Michigan, home on Algonquin Street around 6 p.m. on Saturday, December 16, 2023. Her father, 44-year-old Steven Douglas Cica, was also shot; he was taken to a hospital in critical condition and died the following day. Several children were in the residence during the attack but were not physically harmed.

Police say a 911 call from inside the home reported someone trying to break in and dispatchers heard gunshots while the caller was on the line. Two hours earlier officers had responded to a vandalism call at the same address involving a man who left before they arrived. Investigators identified Veronica’s former partner, 22-year-old Todd Edward Bolden Jr., as the suspect; authorities confirmed he was the father of one of Veronica’s children. Bolden voluntarily turned himself in to police the next day and was arrested, arraigned and denied bond after pleading not guilty.