DUNMORE – A Dunmore man charged with child endangerment in connection with a murder has been identified as a suspect in the death, Dunmore police said in a statement Saturday.
Officers were called to 21 Veterans Drive on Thursday around 11:20 p.m. for the report of an unconscious woman. When officers arrived, they found Nicole Vega dead next to a loaded gun and with her three children nearby.
Officers found Maxwell Hawkins, 37, also of 21 Veterans Drive, at the scene, intoxicated and disoriented. He told officers that his wife was cheating on him.
Hawkins told officers he touched the gun but left it next to the body, even though three children were in the home. He was accused of endangering them.
Following an autopsy on Friday, Lackawanna County Coroner Tim Rowland ruled the manner of death a homicide and the cause of death as a gunshot wound to the head.
In the Saturday release, police said: “Maxwell Hawkins has been identified as the person of interest (suspect) in the murder and a motive has been identified, although he will not be formally charged until the investigation is complete.”
Hawkins remains in Lackawanna County Prison in lieu of $1 million bail.
