Grief counselors will be on hand Monday at Ravenscroft School to help students and faculty deal with the loss of a teacher.
Zoe Welsh, a science teacher at the school and chair of the science department, was killed after police say a man broke into her home on Saturday.
According to the Raleigh Police Department, Welsh called 911 around 6:33 a.m. from her home on Clay Street to report that a man was inside her home. While Welsh was on the phone, the suspect began assaulting her.
When officers arrived, they found Welsh with life-threatening injuries. Welsh was taken to a hospital, where she later died.
In a statement, the school said Welsh was a cornerstone of the school’s science department and the Ravenscroft community for years.
“Her loss is deeply felt by all of us who had the privilege of working with her and learning in her classroom,” the school said.
Ryan Camacho, 36, is charged with Welsh’s murder and felony burglary. He is expected to be in court on Monday.
There is no indication if Camacho and Welsh knew each other.
According to court documents, Camacho has a lengthy criminal history going back more than a decade in both Wake and Durham counties. Court records show Camacho has been arrested more than 20 times.
In many of those cases, Camacho was either charged with a misdemeanor or the cases were dropped altogether.
However, Camacho was arrested in 2021 after he escaped from state prison in Salisbury. Two years earlier, he pleaded guilty to shooting into occupied property.
In December, breaking or entering charges against Camacho in a separate case were dismissed following a mental competency examination. During the hearing, prosecutors asked to have Camacho involuntarily committed but that request was denied by a judge, according to District Attorney Lorrin Freeman, who spoke with WRAL News over the phone Sunday.