The Hartford, Connecticut Police Department has identified the victims of a suspected murder-suicide that occurred on July 24.
The deceased couple, Irving Lollar, 35, and Crystal Cooper, 24, were discovered dead in their shared apartment, marking the 21st homicide in Hartford this year.
According to Hartford Police Lt. Aaron Boisvert, Lollar and Cooper were romantically involved. Cooper’s family found the two gunshot victims in the apartment when they came to check on her after she failed to respond to calls or show up for work.
Breanna Diaz, Cooper’s sister, initiated a GoFundMe page to assist with funeral costs, expressing the pain of losing a family member in such tragic circumstances. Cooper was a committed caregiver at Horizon Dental and had recently moved out of her mother’s home to embark on a new phase of her life.
Cooper’s murder is the ninth intimate partner homicide in Connecticut this year, with three occurring in the last month, according to the Connecticut Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Meghan Scanlon, president and CEO of the coalition, underscored the importance of treating domestic violence as a public health crisis.
Lt. Boisvert pointed out the worrying trend of personal disputes escalating into gun violence, mirroring the situation from the previous year. Both law enforcement and the community are urged to collaborate to prevent such incidents in the future.
