Tucson News NowFriends say suspect was stalking homicide victim before shooting

A Tucson man who is a suspect in a murder-attempted suicide investigation is in "very grave" condition after suffering a self-inflicted gun shot wound, according to Tucson police.

Police have been told that the prognosis is grim for this suspect.

The man is accused of gunning down his ex-girlfriend, 31-year old Claudia Pasqual, then turning the gun on himself.

The crime took place on January 13th, at a home in the 2800 block of South Kolb Road.  Police say the man broke into his ex-girlfriends home, shot her, then tried to kill himself.

Police say Pascual had an active order of protection order against this man, and he was not supposed to make any contact with her.

Police are not releasing his name as he has not been charged with any crimes at this time.  Police said they are waiting to issue a warrant until he is deemed "medically fit" by doctors.

They had an armed guard watching him at the hospital, but due to the nature of his injuries and his condition, police said they chose to remove that guard on Tuesday.

Claudia Pascual was a single mother of two young children, and a hair stylist at Transitions salon, off Broadway.

Friends at the hair salon describe her as a vibrant and warm woman who lived for her children.

The salon staff came together after the shooting, and decided to raise money to help pay for the funeral expenses and support her 10 and 12-year old boys.

Friends say the children were not at home when their mother was shot.

"We are in complete disbelief, it just couldn't be one of our own," said hair stylist Brooke Arispe, a co-worker and friend of Pascual.

Arispe also said they immediately knew who the suspect was when they heard about the shooting.

"When we first found out Claudia had been shot, we knew immediately that this was her ex-boyfriend.  He had been pestering her for months, she tried to get away from him," said Arispe.

Friends said the couple ended their relationship last November, but the ex-boyfriend refused to move on.

"She got a restraining order agianst him.  Every time he'd come around, she'd call the police," said Arispe.

Sheila Dodge-Harrison, the owner of the Transitions hair salon said Pascual was very private about her relationship, but opened up to some of the employees.

Dodge-Harrison was aware that there were problems after noticing tell-tale signs of abuse.

"She once came to work black and blue.  Her face was black and blue," said Dodge-Harrison.

Arispe said there had been a few occasions where the suspect actually showed up at the hair salon.

"Often times he would just stand outside of the salon and stare at her," said Arispe.

She added that Pascual had seemed very concerned and told her co-workers that the suspect would also sit outside her home.

"She called police last Friday.  He was up and down her sidewalk crying, hysterical, when she was trying to come to work," said Dodge-Harrison.

Friends say Pascual seemed terrified in the last few days leading up to her murder.

Her last encounter with her ex-boyfriend had been on Sunday, the night before the murder.  Friends say, despite the order of protection, he showed up at her church.

"She called police and they didn't arrest him," said Arispe.

Pascual told friends she was scared.

"She slept with a gun next to her and slept with a dresser against her door.  She was in fear of her life, yes," said Dodge-Harrison.

We asked Tucson police why they did not arrest the suspect on Sunday night, after Pascual had contacted them, especially because there was an active order of protection against him.

Sergeant Maria Hawke, the public information officer for the Tucson Police Department looked into the case and got back to us with an answer.

"She didn't report it immediately when it happened.  She waited until she got home, then reported it.  There was no indication that there was any imminent violence happening.  At that point it wasn't prioritized as a high priority call because there was no indication of danger.  She even told the dispatcher that she was no longer around him, and he had not followed her home."

Hawke said that if Pascual had called police from the church, and police had found the suspect near her, they would have arrested him on the spot.

Even though violating an order of protection is a misdemeanor crime, Hawke said in such cases they did not cite and release, they always arrested the suspect. 

Tucson police said domestic violence is very prevalent in the community.

To date this year, police have received more than 1,100 calls reporting domestic violence abuse.

Lt. Chris Widmer, who is in charge of the city's Domestic Violence Unit said they averaged about 700-800 domestic violence calls a month, and about half of them ended up with someone being arrested.

Widmer said he read every single report of abuse that came into his office everyday.

"Statistics indicate it's not going to get any better.  These things are serious, they can lead to death," said Widmer.

Staff working at Emerge, a domestic violence crisis center said all the shelters in the city were at full capacity.

Pascual's friends at Transitions are raising money to pay for her funeral and to help her children.  If you would like to help you can stop by M & I Bank in Tucson, and ask to donate to the Claudia Pascual fund.

You can also stop by the Transitions hair salon at 7163 East Broadway Boulevard Tucson, or contact them at (520) 298-0555.

The toll free number for local domestic violence hotline is (888) 428-0101.  They have bilingual staff 24 hours a day standing by to help anyone in need.