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Background: News footage of the scene in Vass, N.C. on Feb. 14 (WRAL). Inset (left): Matthew Wade (Facebook). Inset (center): Katya Tovmash (GoFundMe). Inset (right): Caleb Fosnaugh (Moore County Sheriff”s Office).
The Moore County Sheriff’s Office quickly identified Fosnaugh as the main suspect in the double homicide that took place in Vass, a small town located roughly 60 miles southwest of Raleigh. Authorities responded to a shooting report early in the morning, around 7:45 a.m. Upon arrival, deputies discovered the lifeless bodies of 28-year-old Matthew Wade and 21-year-old Katya Tovmash.
Fosnaugh was apprehended in Ohio later that same day. Police revealed that he and Tovmash had previously been involved in a relationship while both resided in Ohio. This past connection added a layer of complexity to the crime, as the investigation unfolded.
Following the arrest, the identities of the victims were made public. Matthew Wade was an active-duty soldier stationed at Fort Bragg. According to his family and local reports, his relationship with Tovmash, a Ukrainian refugee, was in its early stages. They were living together in her Vass residence at the time of the incident, as detailed by WRAL, a local NBC affiliate.
After Fosnaugh’s arrest, police released the names of the victims. According to police and Wade’s family, he was an active-duty soldier in the U.S. Army and stationed at Fort Bragg. His relationship with Tovmash, a Ukrainian refugee, was just beginning, and he lived with her in her home in Vass, according to reporting by local NBC affiliate WRAL.
The Charlotte Observer reported that Tovmash was also living with and raising some of her younger siblings after her family fled from Ukraine two years ago. The sheriff’s office did not confirm family accounts that some of those siblings were in the house at the time of the shooting.
A friend of Tovmash’s family started a GoFundMe page to raise money for her funeral.
Fosnaugh remains in the custody of the Coshocton County Sheriff’s Office in Ohio. He is expected to be extradited to Moore County to face charges for two counts of murder and one count of breaking and entering.