NEW YORK (AP) – A police officer was suspended the day after his fiancee, also an officer, was found shot to death in their home.

The New York Police Department said Sunday that Alex Chaparro had been suspended without pay pending the outcome of an investigation by the Suffolk County Police Department into the death of Sonia Garcia at the Long Island home they shared.

“We’re assisting in that investigation,” NYPD Commissioner Raymond Kelly said.

Garcia, 28, was found dead in the Bay Shore home early Saturday with a gunshot wound to her chest. Chaparro, 27, called 911 shortly before 6 a.m. Saturday to report the shooting, Suffolk police said.

“He said he heard a shot and found his wife dead from a single gunshot wound,” Suffolk Detective Lt. Jack Fitzpatrick said.

Suffolk investigators have ruled out suicide, Fitzpatrick said, and they have questioned Chaparro.

“We’re still seeing how well his story and the evidence at the scene match up,” Fitzpatrick said.

There was no telephone listing for the couple’s home. A union for NYPD officers, the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, said it had no comment on the case.


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