Talented Singer and Actress Was Killed by Man, Who Barricaded Himself Inside Home Before Death by Suicide

New Mexico authorities say a 29-year-old woman was shot and killed inside a home last week, and the man suspected of shooting her later died by suicide after barricading himself inside the residence.

The Las Cruces Police Department said officers responded around 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 19, to a report of a shooting in the 1100 block of Berkshire Court. Police said the suspect, a 38-year-old man, remained inside the home and refused to respond as officers tried to make contact.

“LCPD called out its SWAT, hostage negotiation and K-9 teams and attempted to make contact with the suspect, but to no avail,” police said in a news release.

About three hours later, officers said SWAT team members entered the home and found the suspect dead from what is believed to have been a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police said at the time that the investigation was ongoing.

On Tuesday, Dec. 23, authorities identified the woman who was killed as Desirae Martin, according to CBS affiliate KDAC, Fox affiliate KFOX and the Albuquerque Journal.

In a GoFundMe organized by her cousin, Adri Florez, Martin — known to friends and family as Dezz — was remembered as a “talented singer and actress” with a warm presence.

“She was beautiful, caring, and selfless, always putting others before herself and making everyone around her feel loved,” Florez wrote. “Dezz cherished her family and friends deeply, and when we were all together, she just wanted us to be close and happy.”

Florez added that Martin had a special affection for Alice in Wonderland, saying it brought her joy and inspiration.

Family and friends told the Albuquerque Journal that Martin was working inside the home as a caregiver when the shooting occurred.

“That’s what she wanted to do, is help people,” Johnny Martin, Desirae’s father, told the outlet. “That’s why she was working at that house. She was just being her.”

Martin graduated from Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. Along with caregiving, she was active in the Las Cruces theater community as a singer and actress.

She had also been planning to travel to Salt Lake City to spend Christmas with loved ones, the Journal reported.

“She was a shooting star. She really was. She wanted to go and help. That was her goal in life, was to help other people,” her father told KFOX. “I miss my little girl. And I want her home,” he added.

Johnny Martin said he is also searching for answers about what happened.

“I want to know how a mentally ill person was able to live in that home and put my daughter in that position,” he told the Journal. “And where did he get a gun?”

The GoFundMe organized by Florez is intended to help bring Martin home to her parents in Utah and cover other related expenses.