In a tragic turn of events that shattered the tranquility of a New Market, Maryland community, 42-year-old Barbara Giomarelli, a native of Siena, Italy, lost her life in a devastating murder-suicide. The incident, which also claimed the life of her infant son, unfolded within the family's home, leaving behind a scene of unimaginable grief and a young daughter as the sole survivor.
On a Wednesday evening in November 2013, what began as a domestic argument between Barbara and her
40-year-old husband, Benyam Asefa, escalated to a horrific conclusion. The couple's disagreement, which started while Barbara was bathing their 5-year-old daughter, moved downstairs. There, in the kitchen, Asefa used a registered 9mm handgun to shoot his wife. Tragically, the bullet passed through Barbara and also struck their 3-month-old son, Samuel Asefa, whom she was holding at the time, killing them both.
Following the fatal shooting of his wife and son, Benyam Asefa then turned the gun on himself, taking his own life. The couple's 5-year-old daughter, who had been upstairs in the bathtub during the incident, got dressed after her parents did not respond to her calls. She went downstairs to discover the horrific scene and bravely sought help from a neighbor, who then alerted the authorities.
Investigators from the Frederick County Sheriff's Office confirmed the incident as a murder-suicide, with Benyam Asefa identified as the shooter. While the specific cause of the argument remains unknown, it was reported that the couple had experienced previous domestic issues. Additionally, Asefa, a native of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, had recently lost his job as a contract worker at a National Institutes of Health laboratory. Barbara Giomarelli had been a researcher at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. The surviving daughter was placed in the care of Child Protective Services following the tragic event.
