R.I. Dad Kills 7-Months-Pregnant Wife and 2 Young Children Before Turning Gun on Himself
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01/09/2025 04:10 PM
West Greenwich police made the horrific discovery on Friday, Jan. 3
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Danielle Lynne Arruda aged 39 as well as her two young children aged 2 and 6, and her unborn childA 39-year-old Rhode Island man shot and killed his seven-months pregnant wife and his two children and then died by suicide, according to police.
Authorities discovered the bodies of Nicholas D. Arruda, 39-year-old Danielle L. Arruda, and their children Adele, 5, and Felex, 2, at their West Greenwich home on Friday, Jan. 3, according to a statement from West Greenwich police.
During a press conference held on Wednesday, Jan. 8, West Greenwich Police Chief Richard N. Ramsay told reporters that Nicholas shot and killed his family before he killed himself, according to a statement from West Greenwich police
During a press conference held on Wednesday, Jan. 8, West Greenwich Police Chief Richard N. Ramsay told reporters that Nicholas shot and killed his family before he killed himself.
"I wish there could be an explanation to help you make sense of this horrific act," Ramsay told reporters. "But the truth is we may never know why it happened."
The shooting occurred between 8 p.m. on New Year's Day and 5:20 a.m. on Jan. 2 inside the family's home on Cheyenne Trail.
The family's bodies were discovered on Jan. 3, when officers went to perform a wellness check on Danielle, who never showed up for work Thursday and did not call Friday.
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Ramsay also said that "suspicious circumstances at the home and had to force entry into the house," per the Boston Globe,
That's when officers discovered the gruesome scene, one Ramsay described as "one of the worst" he's seen in his more than 30-year career.
"Once inside the home, officers immediately noticed the bodies of two young children, an adult male and a pregnant female," said Ramsay. "It was apparent there were no signs of life to any of the bodies and that all four had suffered fatal gunshot wounds."
Ramsay also noted that investigators did not see any signs of a struggle by any of the victims and that Nicholas died from a self-inflicted single gunshot wound, adding that an M4-type semiautomatic weapon was lying next to his body.
According to Ramsay, West Greenwich police never received any indication of trouble at the Arruda family residence prior to the incident.
"They lived together, and all indications from family and friends were that they loved each other and they loved their children," Ramsay said.
"This came out of the blue," Mikayla Ruffner Cihat, Danielle's 26-year-old cousin, told The Providence Journal. Cihat also told the outlet that she had just celebrated Christmas with Danielle and her family.
Cihat had also organized a GoFundMe campaign to assist with memorial services and to help support their family.
"Danielle was loving, smart, caring and the funniest person you'll ever meet," Cihat said of her cousin on the GoFundMe page. "She would light up any room she walked in, and always had the best stories to share and the best solutions if you came to her with a problem."
The campaign has a goal of $25,000 and has already raised over $20,000.
If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
