Crime & Safety
Domestic Dispute Ends in Woman's Death in Seventh St. Home
Man who shot her then shot himself and is in stable condition.
Updated: 4:38 p.m.
A domestic dispute in an East Seventh Street home on Tuesday evening has left a woman dead and a man seriously injured, police said.
According to this Morning Call report, the victim, Margie Reyes, helped build her home with Habitat for Humanity and was active in anti-gang programs. She is survived by three sons.
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Police have not released the name of the shooter who apparently tried to kill himself. The Northampton County coroner has ruled Reyes' death a homicide.
Multiple gunshot wounds was ruled to be the cause of death and Northampton County Coroner Zach Lysek has scheduled an autopsy, according to a police news release issued this morning.
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The shooter is hospitalized in St. Luke's-Fountain Hill. He is in stable condition and is currently under "police supervision" at the hospital, according to the release. A charge of criminal homicide is pending against him, though the charges have not been filed yet because of his condition, police said.
"A firearm was recovered at the scene," the police news release said. "There is no threat to public safety and there is no reason to believe that anyone else is involved in this incident."
A woman who answered the telephone at Habitat for Humanity's offices says she was authorized to say the following: "Habitat for Humanity is deeply saddened by the untimely death of Margie. Our prayers go out to her family, especially her children at this difficult time."
Debrah N. Cummins, the interim executive director of Habitat for Humanity of the Lehigh Valley said this afternoon that Reyes participated in the construction of her home seven years ago through the organization's requirement to contribute 250 hours of sweat equity.
Cummins said she could not release any information about Reyes' family or the home's occupants.
Reyes had been continuing to make mortgage payments to Habitat since she moved in and it is now unclear what her death will mean in terms of the home's future, Cummins said. "At this point, we are dealing with it," she said.
"Our priority right now is to continue to express our deepest sympathies to her extended family," Cummins said.
WFMZ has video of the crime scane.
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