Cassandra Kirkman, a 51-year-old White woman, was found dead in her Roswell, New Mexico, home on February 19, 2022. Police responded to a shots-fired call just before 1 p.m. at a residence in the 900 block of South Caminisito Street and discovered she had suffered a single gunshot wound to the head; investigators said the incident began as a domestic dispute that escalated into a physical fight.

Accounts in the investigation described Kirkman using an object others called a pipe during the struggle. Prosecutors say roommate Melissa Kenyon allegedly obtained a .22 caliber handgun kept in the house, pointed it at Kirkman and fired the shot. The firearm was identified as belonging to Kenyon’s boyfriend, Uriah Shields, who was described as a convicted felon barred from possessing guns.

Kenyon was charged with voluntary manslaughter and Shields faced an unlawful firearm possession charge tied to the weapon. Court filings allege prior conflict between Kirkman and Kenyon in the home and say investigators believed Kenyon had consumed a large amount of drugs and alcohol earlier that morning. Does anyone have information about the household or the events that led up to that afternoon?