In the late hours of a November evening in Suffolk, Virginia, a domestic tragedy unfolded, leaving a community in mourning and two young children without their parents. Deborah Marlow Wigg, a 39-year-old White/Caucasian female, was fatally shot in her home in the Oak Ridge subdivision. The events of that night began to unravel when she made a desperate call to dispatchers at 11 p.m. to report that her estranged husband, Robert Lyndon Wigg, was attempting to break into her residence.
She had a protective order against him, a measure that ultimately proved insufficient to save her.
Before police could arrive, the situation escalated dramatically. Deborah informed the dispatcher that her 43-year-old husband from Virginia Beach had forced his way inside her home. Suddenly, the line went silent. The couple's two children, ages 4 and 10, were in the house at the time of the intrusion and the subsequent violence. In the aftermath of the shooting, they were found physically unharmed and were placed in the care of relatives.
The investigation into Deborah's death quickly led police to a second location, her parents' home on Ronald Drive. There, they discovered Robert Lyndon Wigg deceased. Investigators determined that he had driven to his in-laws' residence after killing his estranged wife and had then taken his own life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The case was classified by the Suffolk Police Department as a murder-suicide.
The investigation concluded that Robert Wigg was the sole perpetrator in the death of his estranged wife, and with his subsequent suicide, the case was closed. There were no further suspects or arrests made in connection with the incident. The tragic event left friends and family to grapple with the devastating consequences of domestic violence.
