A beloved North Carolina science teacher was killed during a home invasion on Saturday, with police charging a man who had faced the possibility of involuntary mental health commitment just weeks earlier.
Zoe Welsh, 57, called 911 around 6:30 a.m. to report an intruder in her Raleigh home. During the call, the intruder began beating her, and a dispatcher reported hearing screams before falling silent. Officers arrived to find Welsh critically injured with a severe head wound; she later died in hospital.
Police arrested Ryan Camacho, 36, nearby. He has been charged with murder and felony burglary. Officials said the pair did not appear to know each other. It later emerged that Camacho's public defender had filed a motion in early December seeking a hearing on involuntary commitment for mental health treatment following his release from prison earlier this year.
Camacho has a criminal record dating to 2005, including a 2019 conviction for discharging a firearm into an occupied property and a 2021 escape attempt while serving that sentence. He was paroled in 2024 and described himself as homeless in May. He appeared in court on Monday and was remanded without bail.
Welsh, a mother of two, taught science at Ravenscroft School in North Raleigh since 2006 and previously chaired its Upper School science department. The school described her as a “cornerstone” of the community, and grief counselling has been made available to students and staff.
Raleigh Police Chief Rico Boyce called the killing a loss for the entire community, adding that the arrest “sends a strong message that criminal acts will not be tolerated in the City of Raleigh”.
