An Iowa mother was slain and her husband badly injured after their daughter’s ex-boyfriend allegedly shot them while they assisted her in moving out of his home following a breakup, according to investigators.
At 5:24 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 1, officers in Des Moines responded to a home on NW 51st Place in response to a complaint of shots fired, according to Polk County Sheriff’s Office Captain Ryan Evans.
When they arrived, they discovered Ruth Robison, 45, and her husband, Tony Ray Robison, 52, with gunshot wounds to the head, Evans said.
Authorities believe that Hamza Smajlovic shot the couple with a 9mm pistol, according to criminal complaints obtained by the Des Moines Register and NBC affiliate WHO 13.
They were brought to the hospital, where Ruth Robison died. Her husband survived, although he remains in critical condition.
Police detained Smajlovic, 24, and accused him with first-degree murder, attempted murder, and intimidation with a dangerous weapon, according to online court documents.
“Obviously this is a tragic situation involving a woman trying to get out of a relationship,” Evans told the newspaper. “It turned into a more dangerous situation resulting in the death of her mother.”
Smajlovic and the Robisons’ daughter, Jasmyne, 24, had recently broken up, and her parents were assisting her in moving her possessions out of the property where they had previously lived together, according to Evans.
According to the Des Moines Register, police allege in the criminal complaint that Smajlovic shot Robison once in the head and then shot her husband.
Smajlovic is still in the Polk County Jail on a $750,000 cash-only bond, according to online court records. He is set to appear in court on November 12. It is unclear whether he has retained an attorney to speak on his behalf.