MURDER USA: Joseph Zujkowski Slew His Wife, Noah Homayouni, and Then Self in Culmination of Three Years of Domestic Violence
MOUNT AIRY, MD. – A man shot and killed his estranged wife and shot to death a teenager who lived next door neighbor in Mount Airy, Md.; then the man drove to Gaithersburg, Md., where he took his own life.
The police quickly found a horrific scene of murder – a woman was shot to death and a neighbor, a teen set to graduate from high school in June – was dying of gunshot wounds.
Carroll County Sheriff James DeWees reported that on Thursday, April 2, 2020, at approximately 2:50 pm, Carroll County Sheriff’s Office deputies, Maryland State Police Troopers, and Mt. Airy Police Department Officers responded to 7910 Bennett Branch Road, Mt. Airy, for the report of gunfire.
The police quickly found a horrific scene of murder – a woman was shot to death and a neighbor, a teen set to graduate from high school in June – was dying of gunshot wounds.
Police determined that the shooter was Joseph Stanley Zujkowski, 35, had returned to the family home and killed his wife, Heather Zujkowski, who lived in the home with the couple’s children. Armed with a rifle, Zujkowski also shot Noah Homayouni, 18, who lived next door and was outside at the time that the man murdered his wife.
After being shot, Noah Homayouni managed to flee to the front yard of his family’s home, reported Sheriff DeWees. Immediate medical attention was given to Homayouni by medics as he was rushed to the Mount Airy Carnival Grounds where a Maryland State Police Medevac helicopter was landing to transport him to a trauma center. When the wounded and dying teen arrived at the landing zone, he was declared dead.
Sheriff DeWees said that police located a cell phone number for Zujkowski and was contacted by a Carroll County Sheriff Deputy who learned that the man was returning to his temporary residence in Gaithersburg, Md. When Montgomery County Police were directed to find the man in Gaithersburg, he shot himself to death at 130 Sloop Court.
Joseph and Heather Zujkowski had three children between the ages of 5 and 12, who were at the family home when the mayhem began. Sheriff DeWees said that the children were not harmed. Friends of the family arrived to take care of them until their grandmother can arrive from Florida to take custody.
Police said that a protective order naming Joseph as the defendant expired in January of this year. Heather Zujkowski was charged with second-degree assault on Feb. 6, 2019 with the complainant listed on court records as Joyce Kreimer. In Carroll County District Court on April 9, 2019, Heather Zujkowski entered a plea of not guilty to the charge of assault with an agreed statement of facts and was given Probation Before Judgement.
A Family Court case in Carroll County Circuit Court filed on March 5, 2019, filed against Joseph and Heather by her mother, Beverly J. Cowart, of Panama City, Florida, for the emergency petition for custody was canceled on Jan. 14, 2020 with an order granting custody to Cowart for 90 days granted by the court on March 7, 2019.
A marital settlement agreement involving custody was signed along with child support on Jan. 13, 2020.
Joseph Stanley Zujkowski was a resident at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Martinsburg, West Virginia on May 30, 2018, when he was named as the respondent in a domestic violence case filed in Carroll County Circuit Court requesting a protective order against him. A final protective order was granted by a Judge on June 6, 2018. Another domestic violence protective order against Joseph Zujkowski was granted on Dec. 27, 2018, and expired on Jan. 11, 2020.
A post on the Facebook page of Heather Walls Zujkowski in 2015 revealed that there were happier days in the family prior to the violence of the last few years and the unspeakable violence on April 2, 2020. Heather wrote in Nov. 20, 2015:
“Hey everyone. Joe is having surgery today. It is a planned surgery, but he’s still going for another hour and a half. Send him some healing thoughts and prayers please! Thank you! You kind of realize how much you love someone when you have to wait on something like this.”
Donate to Noah Homayouni Memorial
Thank you all again for your kindness and generosity. I have been contacted with offers of other support. For now, folks have brought the Homayouni family more than enough food, so please don’t send or bring more.
No arrangements for memorial or remembrance services have been made yet. We understand that Noah had many friends who will want to pay their respects. Please remain patient as the family grieves. We will update this page when we have more news to share. – CHRIS VAIL – organizer of GoFundMe page