Background: Tulare County Sheriff”s Office deputies shut down the street where they reportedly exchanged gunfire with Michael Rocha, leading to his death (Tulare County Sheriff’s Office). Inset: Yesennia Rocha and Michael Rocha (KFSN).
A California man allegedly killed his wife of 25 years in front of their kids – then led law enforcement on a chase that turned deadly.
Michael Rocha, 43, killed his wife, 43-year-old Yesennia Rocha, on Saturday at a family gathering in Reedley, a city around 22 miles southeast of Fresno, authorities say. He then drove away from the area in his Chevy truck, according to the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office.
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The following morning, between 10 and 11 a.m., his truck was spotted in Woodlake, Tulare County, about 30 miles southeast of Reedley. A warrant was out for his arrest for the shooting in Reedley, and Tulare County deputies responded.
At about 1 p.m., they caught up to him – but he seemed to have no intention of being arrested. According to the sheriff’s office, Rocha “fired a rifle at Deputies” as they pursued him. He ended up stopping in the area of Road 222 and Avenue 340 just outside of Woodlake, authorities added – but apparently with ill intentions.
“Right after he stopped, Rocha got out of the truck and began firing multiple rounds at Deputies,” the sheriff’s office said. “Deputies fired back, hitting him. He was pronounced dead at the scene.”
Rita Rocha, Michael Rocha’s mother, said her son and Yesennia Rocha had been married for 25 years and started dating in middle school – but had been separated for the last two months. She also suggested in comments to local ABC affiliate KFSN that this was the motive for the killing.
“He couldn’t cope with her filing for divorce,” Rita Rocha said. “He didn’t want to live without his sweetheart. He didn’t want to live without his soulmate, the love of his life, and he didn’t want her to live without him, so he chose the cowardly way out.”
The couple’s adult children have been left to grieve.
“I just wish I could see her one more time, hold her one more time, tell her I love her, give her a hug, but that man took everything away from us,” Jacob Rocha, their son, said.
“She was the light of our world,” their daughter, Kayla Rocha, said, per KFSN. “She shined very bright. She was always there for me and my brother. She was everything to us.”
The Visalia Police Department is investigating the shooting of Michael Rocha given that deputies from the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office were involved.
Reedley – and the general area where Michael Rocha is said to have traversed – is located in central California.
