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Background: The home in the Wyngate community outside Hillsborough, North Carolina, where the stabbing occurred (WNCN/YouTube). Inset top: Matthew Vukmer (New River Valley Regional Jail). Inset bottom: Paula Floyd (Hudson Funeral Home).
In a shocking incident in North Carolina, a man stands accused of fatally stabbing his housekeeper while his wife was present in their home, before fleeing across state borders. The man, identified as 53-year-old Matthew Vukmer, now faces charges of first-degree murder in connection with the death of 54-year-old Paula Floyd, as stated by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.
The unfolding events took place on the morning of March 6, when Vukmer was at his residence in the Wyngate community, located just outside Hillsborough, North Carolina, approximately 35 miles from Raleigh. Within the home at that time were Vukmer, his wife, and Floyd.
As the situation escalated, Vukmer’s wife reportedly heard Floyd fall and discovered she had been stabbed. She promptly dialed 911, and the call, reviewed by regional Fox affiliate WGHP, captured the tense moments that followed. Describing the incident to the dispatcher, Vukmer’s wife stated, “My husband was upstairs and he said he heard someone and came down. He attacked our cleaning lady because he thought she was someone else!”
Vukmer was later apprehended in Grayson County, Virginia. During a recent court appearance, he waived his right to extradition, thus agreeing to return to North Carolina to face the serious charges against him. The legal proceedings will unfold as authorities seek to uncover the full extent of what transpired in this tragic case.
“My husband was upstairs and he said he heard someone and came down,” Vukmer’s wife told the 911 dispatcher. “He attacked our cleaning lady because he thought she was someone else!”
The wife reportedly referenced how Floyd was a friend of theirs during the call. “I don’t know what he thought she was,” she added, with Vukmer at one point apparently saying in the background, “We got Vladimir Putin.”
As the emergency call continued, Vukmer’s wife stated that she saw her husband get into his truck and drive away, believing he was searching for help.
As it turned out, Vukmer was apparently heading north for the state border.
The Orange County Sheriff’s Office in North Carolina that day stated that it had obtained the murder charge against Vukmer and was searching for him after he left his home in a dark Ford Super Duty truck. Investigators reportedly spoke with his wife and, acting with her help, believed he may have traveled to western Virginia, per area CBS affiliate WNCN.
Hours later, at about 5:15 p.m., authorities took Vukmer into custody in Grayson County, Virginia, about 145 miles away. The North Carolina law enforcement agency said he “declined to speak to investigators and requested an attorney.”
“We know the family and friends of Paula Floyd experienced a life-shattering event today, and we continue to extend our condolences,” the sheriff’s office added at the time. “It is our hope that they take some small measure of comfort knowing that her assailant is in custody.”
Floyd is remembered in her obituary as a “lifelong member of the community she loved and a bright presence in the lives of everyone who knew her.”
She “worked as a self-employed housekeeper, but those who knew her best would say her true work in life was caring for people,” the obituary continues. “She had a gift for making others feel welcome, valued, and loved. To Paula, family was never limited to blood—it included anyone lucky enough to cross her path.”
Floyd had a husband and two sons.