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Man and woman identified following potential murder-suicide last week

Posted at 4:42 PM, May 22, 2024

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. — The El Paso County Coroner's Office has released the names of a man and woman following a potential murder-suicide.

The coroner says the woman victim has been identified as 25-year-old Esmeralda Contreras-Mata, and the man has been identified as 31-year-old Thabiso Makhafola.

The incident happened just after 9 a.m. on May 16. According to the El Paso County Sheriff's Office, they were responding to a welfare check on Cottonwood Dr. which is located in the Security-Widefield area of unincorporated El Paso County.

The sheriff's office says when they arrive, they found Contreras-Mata and Makhafola both dead.

The coroner's office will release the cause of death for Contreras-Mata and Makhafola, but the sheriff's office says the incident is being investigated as a potential murder-suicide. They also say there is no known threat to the community.
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