On July 15, 2024, at about 8:43 PM, police responded to a reported shooting at an apartment complex in the 4400 block of Euclid Avenue in the Talmadge neighborhood. Officers found 38-year-old Senait Legesse inside an apartment with at least one gunshot wound; she was pronounced dead at the scene.

Investigators say a 59-year-old man was in the apartment when an armed intruder entered and demanded the man’s wallet. When Legesse tried to intervene, the assailant shot her and fled on foot. Detectives later identified a 35-year-old man, Robert Madden, as the primary suspect; he was arrested on July 19, 2024, in the 4900 block of University Avenue and charged with murder. Madden pleaded not guilty at arraignment to murder and being a felon in possession of a firearm and has prior convictions for robbery and dissuading a witness.

The investigation remains ongoing and authorities are seeking additional witnesses. If anyone has information about the shooting or saw activity in the area that evening, please contact the San Diego Police Homicide Unit or Crime Stoppers.