Rowan Woman Charged With First-Degree Murder in Husband’s Death

A Salisbury woman originally charged with assault is now facing a first-degree murder charge after her husband died from injuries suffered during a domestic incident earlier this month.

According to the Rowan County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded around 2:00 a.m. on April 9 to a home on Meadow Lane after 58-year-old Yorleni Shoff called 911 to report that her 93-year-old husband, Richard Shoff, was lying on the floor bleeding.

When deputies arrived, investigators found signs of a violent altercation inside the home, including a large amount of blood. Richard Shoff was discovered unresponsive and transported to a local hospital with severe head injuries. Detectives later obtained a search warrant and recovered a broken vase that investigators believe was used during the assault.

Yorleni Shoff was initially charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and domestic violence. She later posted a $500,000 bond and was released from custody on April 17.

Authorities said Richard Shoff died the following day while receiving treatment at Atrium Health Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. Investigators then classified the case as a homicide due to the injuries he suffered.

On April 21, detectives obtained a warrant upgrading the charge against Yorleni Shoff to first-degree murder. She was taken back into custody without incident at the Sleep Inn Salisbury I-85 on Bendix Drive in Salisbury.

Shoff is now being held without bond at the Rowan County Detention Center and was scheduled to make her first court appearance on the murder charge on April 22 in Salisbury.

The investigation remains ongoing.