On June 25, 2024, Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office detectives arrested and submitted charges on 60-year-old Robert McGrath for killing his wife, 53-year-old Marcia McGrath and mother-in-law, 77-year-old Thea Merlino.
According to the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), on June 25, 2024, at approximately 3:07am, dispatch received an emergency call for service in reference to a male subject with a gun near the area of 13000 block of Newcastle Drive, in Sun City. The caller reported hearing a loud noise coming from an adjacent apartment. The caller attempted to check upon the resident’s welfare when they noticed an individual, later identified as Robert McGrath, in the doorway with a handgun. Robert pointed the gun at the complainants, ordered them to the ground and threatened to shoot them if they moved. Robert then went back into the apartment and the callers fled back into their own residence.
Deputies responded to the scene and heard a voice yelling for help from within the apartment. Deputies immediately made entry to the apartment and located one deceased female, and another severely injured, both with gunshot wounds.
Deputies began providing life saving measures until fire personnel arrived on scene and transported the injured woman, later identified as Marcia McGrath, to the hospital, where she was pronounced deceased shortly after her arrival.