A woman suspected of killing her police officer husband was found dead on Monday, six days after she disappeared from their Massachusetts home, authorities said. Karen Solomon, a mental health advocate, went missing after her husband, Worcester Police Officer Kurt Solomon, was found dead at their home shortly before 5:30 am on August 18. Authorities had named Karen Solomon as a suspect and said they believed she was armed.
According to Worcester Police Chief Paul Saucier, the case is believed to be a tragic murder-suicide. Two people who worked at Fairlawn Rehabilitation Hospital reported finding human remains nearby, and officers recovered a woman’s corpse. A final ID was still pending, but authorities said they were confident it was Karen Solomon.
A handgun found near her body was not a Worcester police service weapon, and investigators were working to determine who owned it. On August 19, authorities released doorbell camera footage of Karen Solomon walking down a street in a T-shirt, shorts, and flip-flops, just minutes after officers responded to the couple’s home and found her husband’s body. Karen Solomon, 58, co-founded the group First H.E.L.P., which advocates for the mental health of police officers.
She also wrote two books about the physical and psychological experiences of first responders. In a 2020 interview on the Dr. Phil show, she said police departments often offered little help to the families of officers who took their own lives. Kurt Solomon, who had served 31 years with the police department, was mortally injured with a sharp object, authorities have said.
An arrest warrant issued over the weekend charged Karen Solomon with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. Police had been searching for her, deploying drones, boats, and tracking dogs in the area near the couple’s Worcester home and a reservoir about a mile away. They also handed out flyers with her photo to drivers in the area.
The Solomon family thanked law enforcement for helping them find some answers in a statement read by Saucier during Monday’s news conference. A wake for Kurt Solomon was scheduled for Tuesday, and his funeral for Wednesday, the police chief said. The local police union president, Thomas Duffy, described him as ‘a tremendous human being’ who was like family.
