In the early morning hours of June 25, 2026, 42-year-old Lorena Capera Paz, a native of Colombia, was found deceased in the parking lot of her workplace in Smithfield, North Carolina. Officers responded to the AAF Flanders air filtration plant at approximately 5 a.m. where they discovered Capera Paz suffering from gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Capera Paz was an employee at the facility, and the tragic event unfolded just as the day was beginning for many of her colleagues. The incident was initially believed to have stemmed from a domestic dispute.
Within hours, investigators identified a suspect with the help of witnesses at the scene. At around 9 a.m. that same morning, police arrested 39-year-old Jesus Bermudez, the victim's husband, at his home on Galilee Road in Smithfield. He was subsequently charged with first-degree murder and is being held at the Johnston County Detention Center without bail. The investigation revealed that the couple shared a teenage son.
During his initial court appearance, it was stated by prosecutors that Bermudez had confessed to the murder. It was also revealed that he had purchased a firearm just days before his wife's death. Through an interpreter, Bermudez informed the judge that he had turned himself and the gun in after the shooting. A motive for the shooting was not immediately made public. This case presents a somber overview of a domestic tragedy that escalated to a fatal workplace shooting, leading to the swift arrest of the alleged perpetrator who, according to prosecutors, admitted his guilt in the immediate aftermath of the crime.
