WEST GREENWICH, RI - Authorities in the state of Rhode Island are continuing their investigation after a family for four was found dead inside their home during the first week of January.
According to WPRI, preliminary investigation indicate that 39-year-old Nicholas Arruda shot and killed his pregnant wife and two young children before taking his own life. West Greenwich Police Chief Richard Ramsay said in a statement, "I understand this is a heartbreaking time for the relatives and friends of the Arruda family as well as the West Greenwich community. I wish there could be an explanation to help you make sense of this horrific act, but the truth is we may never know why it happened."
Officers went to the home on Friday morning, January 3rd, to perform a well-being check after 39-year-old Danielle Arruda's coworkers reported that she had not been to work for a couple of days. Upon arriving at the home, police found the bodies of Danielle Arruda, who was seven months pregnant, five-year-old Adel Arruda, and two-year-old Felex Arruda. They all had multiple gunshot wounds from a semiautomatic gun.
Police also found Nicholas Arruda with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head. On the ground near him was an M4-type semiautomatic firearm. Police said the gun that was found is the one believed to have been used in the shootings, but a formal examination of the weapon has not yet been conducted. Two other firearms, a Mossberg shot gun and a semiautomatic rifle, were found in the home. Police said they believe those guns were purchased illegally.
Ramsay said, "It was also apparent that no one had exited the house because the door that was accessible to the outside was not only locked, but had a safety chain latched, which could only be done from the inside of the home."
Police said they believe the shootings took place sometime between Wednesday night, January 1st and Thursday morning, January 2nd based on reports from neighbors who heard "popping" noises. The family has lived at the home since 2019 and police have not had any prior contact with them. Police said that Nicholas does have a prior felony domestic arrest in West Warwick back in 2014, but it was dismissed when the victim refused to cooperate with law enforcement.
The victim in that case was not Danielle. Friends and family say that Danielle and Nicholas loved each other and their children. Mikayla Ruffner, Danielle's cousin, said that she was a wonderful mother and was well respected by everyone who knew her. Ruffner said, "It's honestly just the biggest shock. It's very hard to deal with."
The cousin said she just saw Danielle and the kids over the holidays. She said, "I think that's something that I struggle with the most, not knowing why and it being so sudden." As of this writing, police said there are no clues pointing to a potential motive.
Ramsay said, "It's heartbreaking. There's not really much you can do with an investigation like this. It's pretty much self-explanatory, but we still have to go through all the motions to find out if there was anything that somebody missed, any reason that would lead someone to do what he had done to his family. But to date, we have not been able to come up with anything." A GoFundMe has been set up to raise money for Danielle's parents to help them with the funerals.
According to WPRI, preliminary investigation indicate that 39-year-old Nicholas Arruda shot and killed his pregnant wife and two young children before taking his own life. West Greenwich Police Chief Richard Ramsay said in a statement, "I understand this is a heartbreaking time for the relatives and friends of the Arruda family as well as the West Greenwich community. I wish there could be an explanation to help you make sense of this horrific act, but the truth is we may never know why it happened."
Officers went to the home on Friday morning, January 3rd, to perform a well-being check after 39-year-old Danielle Arruda's coworkers reported that she had not been to work for a couple of days. Upon arriving at the home, police found the bodies of Danielle Arruda, who was seven months pregnant, five-year-old Adel Arruda, and two-year-old Felex Arruda. They all had multiple gunshot wounds from a semiautomatic gun.
Police also found Nicholas Arruda with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to his head. On the ground near him was an M4-type semiautomatic firearm. Police said the gun that was found is the one believed to have been used in the shootings, but a formal examination of the weapon has not yet been conducted. Two other firearms, a Mossberg shot gun and a semiautomatic rifle, were found in the home. Police said they believe those guns were purchased illegally.
Ramsay said, "It was also apparent that no one had exited the house because the door that was accessible to the outside was not only locked, but had a safety chain latched, which could only be done from the inside of the home."
Police said they believe the shootings took place sometime between Wednesday night, January 1st and Thursday morning, January 2nd based on reports from neighbors who heard "popping" noises. The family has lived at the home since 2019 and police have not had any prior contact with them. Police said that Nicholas does have a prior felony domestic arrest in West Warwick back in 2014, but it was dismissed when the victim refused to cooperate with law enforcement.
The victim in that case was not Danielle. Friends and family say that Danielle and Nicholas loved each other and their children. Mikayla Ruffner, Danielle's cousin, said that she was a wonderful mother and was well respected by everyone who knew her. Ruffner said, "It's honestly just the biggest shock. It's very hard to deal with."
The cousin said she just saw Danielle and the kids over the holidays. She said, "I think that's something that I struggle with the most, not knowing why and it being so sudden." As of this writing, police said there are no clues pointing to a potential motive.
Ramsay said, "It's heartbreaking. There's not really much you can do with an investigation like this. It's pretty much self-explanatory, but we still have to go through all the motions to find out if there was anything that somebody missed, any reason that would lead someone to do what he had done to his family. But to date, we have not been able to come up with anything." A GoFundMe has been set up to raise money for Danielle's parents to help them with the funerals.
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