Veronica Crain: Michigan woman fatally shot by her ex-BF behind the front desk of a hotel where she worked

CANTON, MICHIGAN: A Michigan man has been arrested for fatally shooting his 19-year-old ex-girlfriend, authorities said. On Monday, February 26, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office said that Joseph Michael Slocum Jr, 23, was arrested after police found Veronica Crain fatally shot at a hotel in Canton, Michigan. 

Canton police responded to a shooting at a hotel on the evening of February 16, according to Monday’s, February 26, press statement from the prosecutor’s office. Officers found Crain “behind the front desk, suffering from a gunshot wound to the head,” the statement said. Responding medics pronounced her dead at the scene. 

Joseph Michael Slocum Jr fled the scene and was involved in a car accident

Authorities allege Slocum entered the hotel and fatally shot the victim and fled the scene, as per the statement. In about 30 minutes, police responded to a car accident at a separate location where they found the suspect “lying in the road suffering from multiple injuries,” the statement said. 

Veronica Crain was trying to break up with Joseph Michael Slocum Jr

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy indicated Crain was in the process of trying to end her relationship with Slocum. “The most dangerous time for a domestic violence victim is when they are trying to leave the relationship,” she said in the statement, as per CBS News. “Horrifyingly, this case is a textbook example,” she added.

Veronica Crain's mother mourns the loss of her daughter

In a Facebook post, a woman identifying herself as Crain’s mother said she is mourning the loss of her “first love, my best friend," calling the victim her "guardian angel.” 

“She thought it was love and I don’t know the answer but my baby is gone and didn’t deserve it,” Kimberly Crain wrote, sharing a GoFundMe created to lay Veronica to rest in a manner “as beautiful as possible.” "This ain’t fair, I feel like my heart as been ripped out out of me she went everywhere with me and now I can’t see her or hear her," Kimberly wrote.

Veronica was employed at a Comfort Inn, according to a location provided in the prosecutor's office's statement as well as a neighboring business that corroborated the information. 

What charges does Joseph Michael Slocum Jr face?

Online court records show Slocum has been charged with premeditated first-degree murder and possession of a firearm. He has retained an attorney, as per court records, but no further information was available. He was arraigned on Monday, February 26, according to the prosecutor’s office. It wasn’t immediately clear if he has entered a plea.