Background: Tulare County Sheriff’s Office deputies sealed off the street where they reportedly engaged in a shootout with Michael Rocha, resulting in his demise (Tulare County Sheriff’s Office). Inset: Yesennia Rocha and Michael Rocha (KFSN).
A California man allegedly killed his wife of 25 years in front of their kids – then led law enforcement on a chase that turned deadly.
Michael Rocha, aged 43, fatally shot his wife, Yesennia Rocha, also 43, during a family event in Reedley, located roughly 22 miles southeast of Fresno, officials report. After the incident, he fled the scene in his Chevy truck, as per the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office.
His vehicle was later seen the next morning, between 10 and 11 a.m., in Woodlake, Tulare County, approximately 30 miles from Reedley. A warrant was issued for his arrest concerning the Reedley shooting, prompting Tulare County deputies to respond.
Around 1 p.m., deputies caught up with Rocha; however, he appeared unwilling to surrender. The sheriff’s office reported that Rocha “opened fire on Deputies with a rifle” during the chase. He eventually stopped near Road 222 and Avenue 340 just beyond Woodlake, authorities stated – seemingly with further aggressive intentions.
“Once he halted, Rocha exited the truck and commenced firing numerous shots at Deputies,” stated the sheriff’s office. “Deputies retaliated, striking him. He was declared dead at the site.”
Rita Rocha, Michael Rocha’s mother, mentioned that her son and Yesennia Rocha had been married for 25 years, having started their relationship in middle school, although they had been living apart for the past two months. She implied in statements to local ABC affiliate KFSN that this was the reason for the tragic incident.
“He couldn’t cope with her filing for divorce,” Rita Rocha said. “He didn’t want to live without his sweetheart. He didn’t want to live without his soulmate, the love of his life, and he didn’t want her to live without him, so he chose the cowardly way out.”
The couple’s adult children have been left to grieve.
“I just wish I could see her one more time, hold her one more time, tell her I love her, give her a hug, but that man took everything away from us,” Jacob Rocha, their son, said.
“She was the light of our world,” their daughter, Kayla Rocha, said, per KFSN. “She shined very bright. She was always there for me and my brother. She was everything to us.”
The Visalia Police Department is investigating the shooting of Michael Rocha given that deputies from the Tulare County Sheriff’s Office were involved.
Reedley – and the general area where Michael Rocha is said to have traversed – is located in central California.
