25th Tacoma Homicide of 2021: Maria Nunez
It was a sunny afternoon in Tacoma’s Salishan neighborhood on October 21, 2021. Forty-two-year-old Maria Nunez was sitting in the driver’s seat of her Mercury Grand Marquis in front of her house. Her son, 19-year-old Emery Christopher Iese sat in the passenger seat. In the backseats were her 22-year-old brother Raymond Williams, and his girlfriend, Natasha Brincefield. It was around 4:20pm.
Two minutes later a 22-year-old man who lived half a mile away and had a history of mental problems approached the car with a 9mm pistol and opened fire. Nunez was shot in the head as she tried to get out of her car. She was one of four victims that day and the 25th Tacoma homicide of 2021.
A week would pass before the man responsible was identified and arrested. Police and prosecutors were unable to find a connection between any of the victims and the man who murdered the four of them. The only link anyone has found is that the man was in 5th Grade with one of the victims. The man was charged with four counts of Aggravated First Degree Murder and faces a life sentence if convicted.
The senselessness of these murders cannot be overstated. They are Tacoma homicides 25-29 of 2021. Even in a city with an ever increasing violent crime rate, this event shocked the community.
Maria Nunez was the wife of a pastor who ministers to a congregation on Tacoma’s East Side. She was a fun and happy person who enjoyed counseling members of her husband’s church. She was a very loving mother. The couple had seven children.
As always, the comment section is reserved for those who knew Maria and want to share thoughts or memories of her.
–Jack
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