In the early morning hours of April 14, 2020, the life of 33-year-old Cherie Short, a Black/African American female, was tragically cut short in her Wichita, Kansas home. The events that unfolded were a grim culmination of a domestic violence incident that ended in a murder-suicide. Her boyfriend, 44-year-old Robbie Urbano, was identified as the person responsible for her death.
The situation came to the attention of authorities at approximately 5:10 a.m.
when police received a call for an unknown situation at a residence in the 5800 block of East Skinner. A family member of Urbano had contacted the police after receiving a distressing call from him. In that call, Urbano asked the relative to come and pick up the children due to an emergency. This prompted the family member's call to law enforcement. When officers arrived at the home, they found the family member and young children waiting safely outside.
Observing signs of a disturbance inside the house, the officers made a forced entry to conduct a welfare check. Once inside, they discovered a tragic scene. Cherie Short was found deceased from a gunshot wound. Alongside her was Robbie Urbano, who had also sustained a fatal, self-inflicted gunshot wound. The investigation concluded that Urbano shot and killed Short before taking his own life. It was later revealed that Urbano was facing impending federal charges, though the specifics of these charges were not publicly detailed. The incident marked the sixth domestic violence-related homicide in Wichita that year.
