A February case involving Tomeka Kamwani’s former fiancé is now part of the record surrounding her death.
WOODBURY, N.J. — Weeks before Tomeka Patricia Kamwani was killed in her Swedesboro home, prosecutors told a judge that her former fiancé had broken in, assaulted her and threatened her life.
That earlier hearing is now a central part of the case surrounding Kamwani’s death. The 41-year-old mother of four was found shot to death after Woolwich Township police responded in the early morning hours of March 28 to a home on the 300 block of Broad Street. The man suspected in the killing was also found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The February allegations were specific. Prosecutors said the man punched Kamwani in the face, refused to leave her home and threatened to kill her if she called police. They also said Kamwani had already obtained a restraining order. According to the prosecutor’s account in court, Kamwani said the man laughed and told her she needed more locks on the door while showing her a card he used to enter.
The man faced charges that included burglary, terroristic threats, criminal mischief and simple assault. Prosecutors asked the court to keep him detained until trial, citing the alleged violation and the threats. A judge denied the detention request March 3 and allowed his release on bond, with conditions that included no contact with Kamwani. Public reports have not confirmed whether he entered a plea before he died.
The fatal shooting followed less than a month later. Local reports said the man entered Kamwani’s home and shot her three times. Two of Kamwani’s children were in the home at the time. Relatives said the children were not physically injured, but family members later said they did not want to return to the house.
The official account remains limited. Police have not released a full incident report to the public, and the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office has not publicly laid out the evidence collected inside the home. Unknowns include the exact time of entry, whether the shooter forced his way in, who called authorities and whether the restraining order had been reported violated again before the shooting.
Kamwani’s family has filled in much of the public picture. They identified her as a nurse and mother whose children were her main focus. In a fundraiser, relatives said Kamwani’s children, Gavyn, Aiden, Bryson and Ava, had lost the person who provided their daily stability. Her sister, Lakiecha Brooks, said support from the community had come from people who knew Kamwani and from strangers moved by her death.
The case also reached the community through a vigil, where relatives spoke about loss and control in abusive relationships. One woman told the crowd that tracking a partner’s movements is not love but control. Brooks said Kamwani got the restraining order but “still wasn’t protected.” Family members said they hoped her death would prompt more attention to how domestic violence cases are handled before they turn fatal.
The investigation remains active under Woolwich Township police and the Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office. With both Kamwani and the suspected shooter dead, any final public findings are expected to come through investigative records rather than a criminal trial.
Author note: Last updated April 27, 2026.