In the pre-dawn hours of a Saturday in Virginia Beach, Virginia, the quiet of a family-oriented neighborhood was shattered by the sound of gunfire. On March 2, 2019, inside a home on Hunting Horn Way, 37-year-old Vinicius Freire Carneiro was shot and killed. Police responded to an emergency call about shots being fired shortly after 3 a.m. and discovered Carneiro suffering from gunshot wounds; he was pronounced dead at the scene. The man who pulled the trigger, 53-year-old Dusan M.
Naumovic, was present at the home and was taken into custody for questioning.
The investigation that followed began to unravel a complex and tragic story. Naumovic, a teacher of physics and math, was arrested and later charged with second-degree murder and the use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. He was held without bond. The narrative that emerged from Naumovic's side was one of a terrible mistake. His wife told reporters that her husband believed Carneiro was an intruder in their home. The defense attorney argued that Naumovic had acted in self-defense.
Further details revealed that Carneiro was not a stranger to the home's occupants. It was reported that Carneiro was in a relationship with Naumovic's wife. According to the defense attorney's account, Naumovic had been sleeping in his autistic son's room that night. He was awakened by noises coming from his wife's bedroom. Believing a burglar was in the house, he went to investigate. Upon opening his wife's bedroom door and turning on the light, he discovered Carneiro, a man he had never seen before. Within seconds, the fatal shots were fired.
