Armond Avitable: Pennsylvania man shot friend's wife to death before mysterious death in police custody

Warning: This article contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some, readers’ discretion advised.

EAST STROUDSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA: Armond Avitable, a 38-year-old man from Pennsylvania, took refuge with a friend, only to escalate a domestic dispute into a deadly tragedy.

Avitable, who had been kicked out of his home following an unspecified “domestic dispute", sought solace in his friend Kevin Schilling in Columbia, New Jersey. However, the friendly gesture turned into a nightmare when the suspect engaged in a heated altercation with Kevin and his 58-year-old wife Cheryl Schilling. 

Heated altercation escalates as agitated suspect fatally shoots friend's wife

The situation quickly escalated as Avitable, described as "agitated and aggressive", grabbed a pump-action shotgun and fired a fatal shot.

“He then fired a shot, stated the prosecutor's office, prompting the Schillings to hastily race the stairs and secure themselves in a bedroom. Avitable then chased after them and “opened the door and fired two shotgun blasts,” the prosecutor said, as per the New York Post.

Armond Avitable fired additional shots before fleeing the scene

Cheryl, who was struck in the arm and upper left torso, tragically died at the scene. After fleeing the scene, Avitable reportedly informed neighbors that “he had to shoot her because he (Cheryl Schilling’s husband) was coming for him,” authorities said.

He fired additional shots at the house before abandoning the weapon and fleeing.

Armond Avitable's confrontation with troopers ends mysteriously

Law enforcement swiftly tracked down Avitable, who “engaged the New Jersey State Troopers in a physical altercation." The sequence of events took a puzzling turn when the suspect, subdued and taken into custody, experienced a mysterious "medical emergency" shortly afterward.

Despite immediate medical attention, Avitable was pronounced dead at a local hospital just after 9 pm.

Armond Avitable's death ruled as a homicide

The cause of death remains undisclosed, leaving authorities to investigate whether it is directly connected to the earlier confrontation. Cheryl's tragic death has been ruled as a homicide due to a gunshot wound to the torso by the Morris County Medical Examiner's Office.