In December 2025, the community of Vallejo, California, was shaken by the tragic death of Erma Malassab, a woman with family ties to the Philippines. On the evening of December 9, a concerned coworker reported Erma missing after she failed to appear for work. The friend revealed to authorities that Erma had recently been involved in a heated argument with her husband, during which he allegedly threatened to kill her.
This alarming information prompted the Vallejo Police Department to conduct a welfare check at her apartment on the 1000 block of Oakwood Avenue. Officers received no response at the door and found no immediate signs of disturbance, leading them to issue a "be on the lookout" alert for her vehicle.
The grim discovery of her death came the following day, December 10, when a maintenance worker entered the apartment and found Erma unresponsive. Emergency responders pronounced her dead at the scene from a gunshot wound. Investigators quickly identified her husband, 45-year-old Zheer Queja Malassab, as the primary suspect. Authorities utilized automated license plate readers to track the couple's vehicle, discovering it had traveled across the country to Pennsylvania.
Vallejo detectives coordinated with the Pennsylvania State Police, who located the vehicle and attempted a traffic stop. Zheer refused to yield, initiating a pursuit that ended when snowy road conditions forced him to surrender. He was taken into custody without further incident. Following his arrest, police stated that Zheer confessed to shooting his wife. He remained in custody in Pennsylvania pending extradition to California, where he was expected to face murder charges and be booked into the Solano County Jail.
