Hillcrest woman killed in murder-suicide filed domestic incident reports

A Hillcrest woman filed domestic incident reports with police about her ex-boyfriend prior to her death last month, News 12 has learned through a Freedom of Information Act request.

Diane Caruso

Feb 26, 2024, 11:06 PM

Updated 286 days ago

Share:

A Hillcrest woman filed domestic incident reports with police about her ex-boyfriend prior to her death last month, News 12 has learned through a Freedom of Information Act request.
In July 2023, Rosezella Munroe reported her ex-boyfriend, Lawrence Byrd, had used a key to get into her home while she was sleeping and texted her the next day describing what he saw.
On Jan. 26, Munroe called the police because Byrd wasn't leaving from outside of her home. The next day, she reported he was allegedly sending explicit photos of her to people she knew.
News 12 reported that she was killed on Jan. 31 after police say he shot her at her home on Inwood Drive. Byrd fatally shot himself in Connecticut later that day.
Her loved ones called her “peaches.”
"We keep learning about best practices after people are murdered. Because she didn't die, she was killed,” said Elizabeth Santiago, the CEO of the Center for Safety & Change, a Rockland based organization that helps domestic violence survivors.
News 12 asked Santiago to look at the documents. She says a change needs to happen at the criminal justice level.
"I'm not putting the blame on the police. I'm not putting the blame on the courts. I am saying there were opportunities that were missed so we have to figure out, now as a community, how do we not allow this to happen to another person,” said Santiago.
She pointed out what happened in July saying “that incident alone demonstrated there was signs of stalking. The fact that he knew to come into her home while she was asleep because he still had a key that she didn't think of? That should have been a trespassing arrest."
According to the document, no arrest was made.
News 12 reached out to Ramapo police for more information and was told to file another records request.