A Waukesha man murdered his wife and sister-in-law to ‘save’ them from the coronavirus, complaint says – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

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A Waukesha man on March 10 stabbed four of his family members, killing two of them, includinghis wife,in a violent outburst linked to his obsessiveconcern overthe growing coronavirus pandemic, according to a criminal complaint.

Adam Roth, 36, wascharged Wednesday in Waukesha County Circuit Courtwith two counts of first-degree intentional homicide, two counts of attempted first-degree intentional homicide, one count of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, and one count of mistreatment of animals/causing death by use of a dangerous weapon.

The two victims who died from their injuries were Adam Roth's wife, Dominique Roth, 34, and his sister-in-law Deidre Popanda, 26, according to a news release from the Waukesha County Sheriff's Department.

Desiree Popanda, 36, and Gilane Popanda, 62, suffered"significant injuries" in the stabbing, according toTown of Waukesha Fire Chief Dan Buchholtz, and were transported to area hospitals.

According to the complaint:

Gilane Popanda said her son-in-law, Adam Roth, had been "acting obsessive" over the coronavirus for several weeks leading up to the incident.

At 5 a.m. March 10, she said he woke everyonein the houseup to tell them he loved them and was sorry for everything he had said and done to them.

Gilane said her daughter, Dominique, and Adam were in the kitchen eating later that day when he began stabbing her. When Gilane and her other daughters,Desiree andDeidre, told him to stop, he "turned on everybody," includingDesiree's 9-year-old son. The child escaped with his mom and ran to a neighbor's house.

Around 6:45 p.m. March 10, a caller told dispatchers"her brother-in-law was going crazy and was trying to stab her sisters."

When a deputy arrived on-scene, he spoke withDesiree and Gilane Popanda, who were outside "covered in blood," and later transported to the hospital.

When the deputy entered the home, he immediately heard screaming.

The deputysaid Adam Roth had a large knife in his hand and was also"covered in blood." After the deputy pointed his rifle atRoth and told him twice to drop his weapon, Roth obeyed and said, "All right, I am done now."

When police found Dominique Roth, she said "Why did he do this?"and "Please help me" before succumbing to 19 stab wounds.

Police found Deidre Popanda and a family dog dead on scene.

Whena detective interviewed Roth at the hospital the day after the stabbing, Roth said "it (coronavirus)was coming andI had to save them."

Roth made his initial appearance in court via Zoom video April 8. Hiscash bond was set at $500,000, according to online court records.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 17.

Sophie Carson contributed to this report.

Contact Hannah Kirby at hannah.kirby@jrn.com. Follow her on Twitter at @HannahHopeKirby.

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A Waukesha man murdered his wife and sister-in-law to 'save' them from the coronavirus, complaint says - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel