A man is accused of fatally stabbing a woman who worked as his housekeeper at his North Carolina home before fleeing the state, authorities said.
Hours after the killing on Friday, March 6, an investigator with the U.S. Marshals Service Carolinas Regional Fugitive Task Force captured Matthew Jared Vukmer, according to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina.
Vukmer, 53, who is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Paula Floyd, was apprehended in Grayson County, Virginia, the sheriff’s office said in a news release issued the evening of March 6.
Vukmer is accused of stabbing Floyd, 54, to death at his home in the community of Wyngate, located near Hillsborough, the morning of March 6, according to authorities.
Floyd had been working for Vukmer as his housekeeper for more than 20 years, according to family and friends who spoke with WRAL-TV.
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“We’re truly heartbroken,” one of Floyd’s friends, Gracie Toler, told the TV station. “We want answers, that’s what we want.”
Following Vukmer’s arrest in Virginia, he decided not to speak with law enforcement and asked for an attorney, according to the sheriff’s office.
It was not currently clear whether he retained an attorney as of Tuesday, March 10.
“He awaits extradition to North Carolina, a process that may take several weeks,” the sheriff’s office said in the news release.
Law enforcement initially arrived at Vukmer’s home in response to a 911 call made by Vukmer’s wife on March 6, according to authorities, ABC11 reported. Vukmer’s wife was said to have found Floyd on the ground of the Vukmers’ home after she heard a disturbance involving Floyd and Vukmer.
Orange County Sheriff Charles Blackwood said investigators found Vukmer at a vacation cabin in the area of Galax, Virginia, later on March 6, according to ABC11.
“We know the family and friends of Paula Floyd experienced a life-shattering event today, and we continue to extend our condolences,” Blackwood said in a statement. “It is our hope that they take some small measure of comfort knowing that her assailant is in custody.”
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In the wake of her death, Toler created a GoFundMe page in support of Floyd’s family.
“She was deeply loved by her family, friends, and everyone who had the privilege of knowing her,” Toler wrote of Floyd. “Her kindness, love, and the way she cared for others will never be forgotten.”
“Her family is now facing the difficult reality of moving forward without her,” the GoFundMe page says.
A motive for the killing, if known, has not been shared by police.
