A Nevada Woman Invited Her Estranged Husband for a Reconciliation Meeting. Then, She Killed Him with Her Mother's Help, Cops Say.
A woman and her mother from Nevada were arrested as suspects in her estranged husband's murder, police alleged.
Travis Calumpit was found face down, feet toward the river, with blood near his left side at Martin’s Landing, a 60-acre campsite near the Snake River and Oregon border, according to an arrest affidavit, The New York Post reported.
Melissa Fay Calumpit, 35, allegedly called her estranged husband Travis Calumpit, at the murder site under the pretense of talking about rekindling their relationship, New York Post reported. Her mother, Rosalie Lynn Morris, accompanied her to the meeting. Both of them allegedly teamed up together to murder the victim, according to the outlet.
Travis Calumpit's body was found by two campers around 9 p.m. on July 12, People reported. He had been fatally shot in the chest.
Travis Calumpit and Melissa Calumpit had gone their separate ways because of the former's alleged serial abuse, The New York Post reported. They shared three children.
Travis Calumpit apparently told his stepfather about the meeting, People reported.
Police initially conducted a phone interview with Melissa Calumpit after finding Travis Calumpit's body, The New York Post reported.
The woman became a person of interest after she "made several statements during the investigation that were both incriminating, inconsistent with the evidence, and led investigators to believe she had intimate knowledge of details of the homicide that were not known to the public," according to the arrest affidavit, the outlet reported.
On being asked where she was at the time of the murder, Melissa Calumpit allegedly told police that she had gone on a drive in their home state of Nevada, The New York Post reported.
She then changed her story when detectives showed her dashcam video from Travis Calumpit’s car that captured her in the area where the murder happened.
Melissa Calumpit allegedly told the detectives that she drove to the campsite with her mother, People reported.
Melissa Calumpit apparently confessed to the authorities that she shot the victim, The New York Post reported. She claimed the murder happened in self-defense after Travis Calumpit raped her at the campsite.
"Her story changed several times. She ultimately said she had the .380 pistol in her pocket, hit Travis in the head with a rock, and shot him when he charged at her," the document reads, the New York Post reported.
"In one version of events, Melissa stated Travis took her gun and racked a round into the chamber. She did not make any statements that indicated Travis threatened her with the gun."
Melissa Calumpit allegedly heard her estranged husband's last words, The New York Post reported. "Melissa said after she shot Travis he asked her ‘Why?’ and she said, ‘I’m sorry. I love you,'" the documents state.
Morris claimed to investigators, that the murder was her idea, the New York Post reported. "She said she searched around for an unregistered firearm to use in the murder, and she planned to do it herself; however, Melissa wanted to come along," the affidavit reads.
"Rosalie believed Melissa killed Travis so that Rosalie would not get in trouble." She was hiding in the outhouse while the pair were talking and came out after hearing a gunshot, the outlet reported.
Morris came out and found Travis Calumpit knocked out "silly" by a rock, the New York Post reported. Her daughter pulled the trigger after the victim began charging at her. "Rosalie described Travis as an abusive, drug addict, with mental health issues," police allege. "Rosalie said she decided she had to kill Travis and compared it to putting a dog down to save livestock."
The mother-daughter pair took off from the site after the murder and threw the gun and victim's cellphone in a reservoir, the New York Post reported. They are facing one count of first-degree murder and destruction of evidence.
Morris has also been charged with liability for murder based on an aiding and abetting theory. They are being held against a $2 million bond.