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Former Police Cadet Kills Estranged Wife On Christmas Day, Dies In Shootout With Police

By Tito Ojo-Medubi
Published on: 21:43 PST, Dec 26, 2016

A former police cadet murdered his estranged wife on Christmas Day.

Officers had responded to reports of shots fired at James Tylka’s Oregon home and discovered the body of 24-year-old Kate Armand lying dead in the street. The 30-year-old man had fled the scene with state troopers hot on his heels. Nic Cederberg, a 32-year-old military veteran who has also served seven years with the state police, spotted Tylka in the area and rammed into him. Tylka opened fire, critically wounding the state trooper before he was shot dead, according to Oregon Live.

Carol Sumner made known that she was inside her home when she heard the two cars colliding. According to her, the state trooper in an unmarked car had crashed head-on into Tylka’s Mitsubishi Galant before the exchange of gunfire. She said she had no idea who opened fire first, but saw the former cadet stumble out of the car and run for the woods before other troopers arrived on the scene, exchanged fire with the fleeing man, and killed him.

According to a release from the Oregon Police Department, the police veteran who was currently hospitalized sustained life threatening injuries and was presently surrounded by family and friends.

“Nic received multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to a Portland area hospital. Nic underwent surgery Monday morning and is in critical condition surrounded by his family and friends…keep Nic, his family and all of his law enforcement peers in your thoughts and prayers.”

A neighbor, Gary Bounds recalled that he heard “five shots and a car driving off” around 10 p.m. on Christmas Day at King James Place in King City. Another neighbor, Loren Mitchell, who lives next door to the house on King James Place, remembered hearing something that sounded like loud knocks on his front door when he was watching a Christmas movie. He later realized that those knocks were gunshots and looked out to see a white car speeding away.

“I saw a white, noisy car heading out…I opened the door and went outside and looked. About that time the lady next door…was screaming in front of her driveway.”

Tylka was an unpaid cadet who served with the Beaverton Police Department between 2004 and 2006. The scheme was part of an initiative for teens with interest in law enforcement. The cadets were allowed to help with office work and shadow police officers. However, they were not allowed to carry a firearm or be part of active duty. The scheme has since been discontinued.

Details have emerged that the 30-year-old was locked in a protracted dispute with his estranged wife over the custody of their 11-month-old girl as well as well as child support payments. Just in early December, Tylka posted pictures of the couple kissing and cuddling with a caption addressing their marital status, “We aren’t divorced.”

Armand, a mother-of-two, was a medical technician at an Oregon living center for senior citizens. Her sister revealed that the family was “still in shock and devastated,” adding that her heart is broken from the painful loss of her only sister. There were numerous tributes to the 24-year-old woman who was killed by her estranged husband. Many of the posts described the young woman as a good person and fantastic mother.

Tylka was formerly married to Sabrina Starks and was also battling her on several fronts, according to Fox News. In September, Starks had filed for immediate temporary custody of their son after accusing the 30-year-old of aggressively pressuring the little boy to tell him what she was doing. Starks said when she picked up her son on September 5, he was crying and told her that his dad always yelled at him and punished him if he did not answer questions pertaining to her.

“I asked him what was wrong and he said ‘If I don’t tell daddy what you do, he yells at me and sends me to the corner. I told him no, and he yells until I tell him.'”

A judge had refused Sabrina Stark’s request for immediate temporary custody.

[Featured Image by Udra/iThinkStock]

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