Middletown home was subject of several domestic dispute calls

The Middletown home where a woman was killed with a shotgun blast to the chest Saturday morning had a history of domestic disputes and other issues among family members who lived there.

Since late May, Middletown police responded to the address in the 2900 block of Wilbraham Road about a dozen times. Several times, police were called to break up altercations between Gregory Orona Jr., his wife Cassie Sanders and his father Gregory Orona Sr., according to online police reports.

Orona Jr. is accused of fatally shooting Sanders, 42, with a shotgun blast to the chest on his 35th birthday. Police and medics were called to the home about 9 a.m. Saturday where they found her body.

Preliminary reports from investigators on Saturday evening found that the couple had been arguing Friday night, and the argument continued into Saturday morning. That’s when police said Orona allegedly grabbed a shotgun and fatally shot Sanders. Detectives could not be reached on Sunday for additional comment about the ongoing investigation.

Neighbors on Wilbraham Road said there were people coming and going at the house at all hours of the day and night.

Mollie Watkins, who lives next door, said she thought the noise her dogs heard Saturday morning was a backfire.

“I couldn’t believe it,” Watkins said. “She seemed like a nice person.”

Orona Sr., interviewed on the home’s porch Sunday afternoon, said he was awake in another bedroom in the house watching television when the shooting occurred. He said he heard something hitting the wall but did not hear a gunshot. He then heard his son, Orona Jr., scream, “Call 911 … Cassie’s been shot,” he said.

Orona Sr. said his son and Sanders were constantly arguing, and on Friday they had argued a lot.

Orona Sr. said Sanders wanted Orona Jr. to get guns out of the bedroom. According to Orona Sr., his son kept the shotgun in the bedroom because of some recent car break-ins at the home.

He said Orona Jr. was in the process of climbing over Sanders with the 20-gauge single-shot shotgun in his hand. He said his son had a finger on the trigger but did not realize the shotgun had been cocked when it went off. They had been married just more than two years, he said.

Orona Sr. said his son carried Sanders into the living room, where he tried to give her CPR. cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

“At that point in time she was already dead,” Orona Sr. said. “I lost two people yesterday. My daughter in law was like my daughter and now my son is going to be gone forever.”

“She was a very good person,” Orona Sr. said, adding she taught kindergarten at a private charter school in the Cincinnati area.

Orona Jr. is being held in the Middletown City Jail without bond on a charge of murder. He is scheduled to be arraigned at 9 a.m. Monday in Middletown Municipal Court.

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