Tomeka Kamwani’s family says the mother of four had sought protection weeks before she was killed.

SWEDESBORO, N.J. — A 41-year-old mother of four was found shot to death inside her Broad Street home after a man her family identified as her ex-fiancé violated court-ordered boundaries, authorities and relatives said.

The killing has focused attention on what happened after Tomeka Patricia Kamwani sought a restraining order and after the man was arrested in a February case involving her. Police said officers responded in the early morning hours of March 28 to the 300 block of Broad Street. They found Kamwani dead and also found the man dead from what was described as an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The court history began before the fatal shooting. Kamwani’s family said she obtained a temporary restraining order in mid-February after concerns about the man’s conduct. About a week later, prosecutors said during a bond hearing, the man broke into her home, punched her in the face, refused to leave and threatened to kill her if she called police. A prosecutor said Kamwani reported that the man laughed and told her she “needs to put more locks on the door” while showing a card he used to get inside.

The man was charged in the February case with burglary, terroristic threats, criminal mischief and simple assault, according to reports citing online court records. Prosecutors sought to keep him jailed pending trial, but a judge denied that request March 3 and allowed his release with conditions, including no contact with Kamwani. It was not clear from the available public record whether he had entered a plea or had a lawyer in that case before his death.

Police have released limited details about the shooting. Local reports said the man entered Kamwani’s home and shot her three times. Two of her children were inside the house at the time and were not physically injured, relatives said. Officials have not publicly released a full timeline of how the man got into the home, when the shots were fired or whether anyone called 911 before officers arrived.

Kamwani’s relatives described her as a nurse whose life centered on her children, Gavyn, Aiden, Bryson and Ava. Her sister, Lakiecha Brooks, organized a fundraiser for the children and wrote that Kamwani was “a loving mother, daughter, sister, and friend” whose life was taken too soon. Family members said the children now face housing, school, care and emotional needs after losing their mother in the place where they lived.

At a vigil at Carney’s Point Recreational Park, relatives and friends released balloons and spoke about the shock that followed the shooting. Barbera Brooks Faltz, Kamwani’s aunt, said the family had known the man and struggled to understand the violence. “People break up,” Faltz said. She said Kamwani would be missed at family gatherings and remembered as someone deeply tied to the people around her.

The Gloucester County Prosecutor’s Office and Woolwich Township police have been handling the investigation. Because the suspected shooter also died, the case is expected to focus on the official reconstruction of the shooting, the February court file and the events that led officers back to Broad Street.

Author note: Last updated April 27, 2026.