Background: The 500 block of Roosevelt Road in Creve Coeur, Illinois (Google Maps). Inset left: Caitlynn Girkin (Tazewell County Sheriff”s Office). Inset right: Adolfo Cazares (Rux Funeral Homes).
An Illinois police officer is accused of fatally shooting her roommate after allegedly telling investigators she had sent him Snapchat images showing herself holding a gun to her own head, authorities said.
Caitlynn J. Girkin, 27, faces a first-degree murder charge in the death of 29-year-old Adolfo Cazares, according to jail records reviewed by Law&Crime. She was taken into custody Tuesday and booked into the Tazewell County Jail.
The shooting occurred on March 10 at the home Girkin and Cazares shared in the 500 block of Roosevelt Road in Creve Coeur, Illinois, a village near Peoria in the central part of the state. At the time, Girkin was employed as an officer with the Creve Coeur Police Department.
Around 2:15 a.m., Girkin called 911 and reported that a man had shot himself with her personal firearm, according to court records obtained by local CBS affiliate WMBD. Responding officers found Cazares in a hallway of the residence with his sweatpants partly lowered and blood coming from his nose, mouth, and chest.
Investigators also reportedly located a handgun on Girkin’s bed. Because Girkin was a police officer in the community, the Illinois State Police assumed control of the case to prevent any potential conflict of interest.
As the investigation unfolded over the following weeks and months, authorities say Girkin’s account of what happened shifted more than once.
Initially, investigators noted, Girkin said she and Cazares had previously had a sexual relationship. Regarding the night of the shooting, she allegedly claimed Cazares came into her bedroom with a gun and pointed it at her, prompting her to reach for it before she heard a “pop.”
“The defendant stated that she asked Cazares if he had shot himself, and Cazares stated that he had,” an affidavit stated, adding that Girkin said the man’s sweatpants fell when he hit the floor.
Later, however, the woman said the shooting victim had pulled his sweatpants down when he entered her room, and after he raised the gun at her, she took it and shot him. Six weeks after that, Girkin’s story allegedly changed again, with her detailing how the gun was already on her nightstand when he entered the room.
She said her roommate moved toward her and tried to touch her leg, WMBD reported. She said she pushed him back, grabbed the gun, and he pleaded, “Don’t shoot me.” Girkin said she was afraid he would sexually assault her, which authorities claimed was contradicted by her previous comments that he had not made any sexual advances toward her this day.
The defendant said her roommate went to her room because she sent Snapchat messages showing her holding a gun to her head and with a gun in her mouth, per authorities.
Girkin is expected back in court on Thursday.
Cazares’ obituary says he “loved to play Magic with his friends in his free time” and “enjoyed traveling and loved playing video games with his two nephews.” He also “loved his cat Bookero like it was his child” and “was funny and sweet to everyone and was dearly loved by all his family and friends.”
