In the summer of 2009, a young woman's life was tragically cut short in Ridley Township, Pennsylvania. Twenty-three-year-old Andrea Arrington, a female, was fatally shot on July 20, 2009, in a brutal act of domestic violence. The man responsible was her ex-boyfriend and the father of her two-year-old son, Aaron Michael.
The tragic events unfolded as Arrington was walking to pick up her son from a babysitter on Constitution Avenue. Michael confronted her, and an argument ensued regarding a protection-from-abuse order she had obtained against him just weeks prior on July 2. In the heat of the moment, Michael, 29, pulled out a. 40-caliber Heckler & Koch semiautomatic pistol and shot Arrington multiple times. Even after she fell to the ground, he continued to fire. Arrington was struck approximately 11 times and was rushed to Crozer-Chester Medical Center, where she died from her injuries the following morning. The weapon Michael used was his father's duty gun, which he had taken from his father's home while the officer was on vacation.
Following the shooting, Michael fled to his father's house in Chester. As police surrounded the residence, he made a series of chilling confessions to friends over the phone, admitting to the murders of two of his other children from previous relationships. Four-year-old Lamar Patrick died in September 2005, and four-month-old Alijah Townes died in July 2007. Their deaths had previously been ruled as undetermined. After a standoff with police, Michael emerged from the back of the house and raised his gun at an officer. He was then shot and killed by the police.
Due to the death of the sole suspect, there were no arrests or a trial for the murder of Andrea Arrington. However, the case brought to light a history of domestic abuse and previous violent acts committed by Aaron Michael. Arrington's family later filed a lawsuit against the city of Chester and Michael's father, alleging that the officer was negligent in leaving his service weapon accessible to his son, given his knowledge of the ongoing threats and the protection order against him.
