Josephina Tavarez, 40, a Hispanic woman from Wake Forest, North Carolina, was shot on the night of September 30, 2025, at a home near the 5500 block of Mill Dam Road by Winter Jasmine Lane. Responding officers found Josephina Tavarez with a gunshot wound; she was taken to a hospital, where she died from her injuries. Investigators said the shooting stemmed from a domestic dispute inside the home that Josephina Tavarez shared with her boyfriend.
Police identified and arrested 44-year-old Hariston Jose Ureña-Morales, who lived with Josephina Tavarez, and charged him with murder in connection with the killing. Officials said the case was treated as domestic violence, and Ureña-Morales was booked without bond after his arrest by local authorities.
In court the next day, Ureña-Morales appeared before a judge and, speaking through a translator, stated, “I was forced to do it.” The judge appointed a capital defender to represent him and set his next court date for October 22. Meanwhile, the town reiterated that the shooting of Josephina Tavarez, 40, was the result of a domestic dispute at the Mill Dam Road address.
Local and regional outlets reported the incident through the week, and memorial posts noted that Josephina Tavarez, age 40, lost her life to gun violence in Wake Forest on September 30, 2025. Community coverage emphasized the domestic-violence context and confirmed that a suspect—Hariston Jose Ureña-Morales, 44—had been arrested and charged with murder in the death of Josephina Tavarez.
