On what should have been a day of celebrating love, Valentine's Day of 2026 turned into a scene of tragedy in the quiet community of Vass, North Carolina. Kateryna Tovmash, a 21-year-old Ukrainian woman who had sought refuge in the United States from the war in her homeland, was found shot to death in her home on Daphne Lane. Alongside her was her boyfriend, 28-year-old Matthew Wade, a U.S. Army soldier stationed at Fort Liberty.
The couple was discovered in the early morning hours of February 14th, having been fatally wounded as they slept.
The tranquility of the morning was shattered at approximately 7:45 a.m. when Moore County Sheriff's deputies responded to a report of a shooting. Inside the residence, they found the bodies of Tovmash and Wade. The devastating event unfolded while Kateryna was babysitting her younger siblings, who were present in the home at the time of the incident but were physically unharmed. Her family had moved to the United States to escape the violence in Ukraine, seeking a safer life.
Investigators quickly identified a suspect in the double homicide: 25-year-old Caleb Hayden Fosnaugh of Ohio, Kateryna's ex-boyfriend. According to reports, Fosnaugh drove from Ohio to North Carolina, unlawfully entered the home during the night, and committed the tragic act. Authorities believe that after the shooting, he fled the scene and began the drive back to Ohio.
A coordinated effort between law enforcement agencies in North Carolina and Ohio led to Fosnaugh's swift apprehension. He was located and arrested in Ohio later the same day. Warrants were issued for his arrest on charges of breaking and entering and two counts of murder. Following his capture, he was held in custody awaiting extradition to North Carolina to face the charges against him. The community was left to mourn the senseless loss of two young lives, a stark and heartbreaking end to a search for peace and safety.
