Wife of police officer who was found dead is considered ‘armed and dangerous,’ chief says

Worcester Police Issue Arrest Warrant for Wife of Fallen Officer as Citywide Search Continues

Goldlaner.com – A Massachusetts woman faces criminal charges after her husband, a veteran Worcester police officer, was discovered dead at their shared residence earlier this week. Worcester Police Chief Paul Saucier announced on Friday that an arrest warrant has been filed against Karen Solomon, who is being described as armed and dangerous. The warrant charges her with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon resulting in serious bodily injury.

Solomon, 57, was located lifeless at the couple’s Wildwood Avenue home on Tuesday morning. Despite the warrant’s language, Saucier noted that the officer’s department-issued sidearm had not been taken from the property. He confirmed only that the fatal wound involved a sharp object, declining to elaborate further while the investigation remains active.

“Right now, we’re continuing our search. We will not stop until we find her either way, here or somewhere else,” Saucier told reporters at Friday’s press briefing.

Dispatch Recordings Reveal Early-Morning Timeline

Audio from Worcester dispatch, obtained through independent reporting, paints a granular picture of the first minutes after officers were sent to the Wildwood Avenue address. At roughly 5:28 a.m. Eastern Time, units were dispatched for what was logged as a “medical person down” call. By approximately 5:30 a.m., first responders arrived to find a man lying in the backyard.

One responding officer relayed that visible blood was present inside the structure — specifically in the bathroom and toward the rear of the house. The dispatcher identified the original 911 caller as a female resident of the home. When dispatchers attempted to reach her again, the answering machine identified the number as belonging to Karen Solomon. Police have not publicly confirmed whether Solomon herself placed the initial call.

The recordings capture dispatchers noting repeated unanswered attempts to contact the number. One dispatcher asked whether the caller was male or female; a colleague replied, “It was a female. Her voicemail on her phone is Karen Solomon.”

Shortly after the scene response, a gray 2023 Toyota Highlander registered to the homeowners was reported missing from the area. A be-on-the-lookout alert went out around 6:19 a.m. ET. The dispatch audio does not specify who is believed to be operating the vehicle.

Charges and the Question of Motive

Court records indicate that Karen and Kurt Solomon were married and shared the Wildwood Avenue property. Authorities, however, declined to characterize their current relationship, citing Massachusetts domestic-violence privacy statutes. The contents of the 911 call and any potential motive have likewise not been made public.

Karen Solomon is also known in local law-enforcement circles as a co-founder of an organization dedicated to advancing mental-health resources for police officers — a role that adds a layer of community complexity to the ongoing investigation.

A Career Spanning Three Decades

Kurt Solomon served more than thirty years with the Worcester Police Department before his death. He was also an Army veteran, a father of two sons, and, by all accounts, a man who found deep satisfaction in tending his vegetable garden. His obituary described him as “a dedicated gardener who took pride in his vegetable garden” and noted that he regularly donated surplus produce to a local food bank.

Beyond the garden, the officer enjoyed fishing, golf, and what his obituary called “simply sitting on his deck with a cup of coffee.” The New England Benevolent Association, a labor organization representing law-enforcement officers across the region, remembered him as “known as an incredibly dependable officer, colleague and friend.”

“He will be remembered for his many years of service to his country and his community, his witty sense of humor, and the pleasures he found on the street he lived on his whole life.”

Worcester Mayor Joe Petty, who had known Solomon through years of City Council meetings, posted a tribute on Instagram praising the officer’s “caring personality and the warm smile with which he always greeted me.” Petty added that those small, routine interactions “spoke to the kind of person he was and will be greatly missed.”

Community in Mourning, Search Underway

At Friday’s briefing, Saucier offered a personal remembrance: “Kurt was a hell of a guy. He was an awesome police officer and an awesome person and he’s going to be truly missed.” He acknowledged that the department itself is grieving, saying the force is “hurting right now” and expressing hope that answers can be brought to the family.

The officer’s family, Saucier said, is “going through a lot right now” in what he called a “very difficult situation.” A wake is scheduled for Tuesday, with the funeral to follow on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, the search for Karen Solomon has prompted the city to close several nearby recreational areas and beaches for the weekend. Residents in the Wildwood Avenue neighborhood and surrounding neighborhoods have been asked to report any sightings of the missing gray Toyota Highlander. The Worcester Police Department has not indicated a timeframe for concluding the search, and Saucier made clear that operations will continue until Solomon is located.

The case sits at an intersection of personal tragedy, ongoing criminal investigation, and institutional grief — a combination that has left a mid-sized New England city watching closely as both the search and the inquiry unfold.