Karen Solomon was sought after her veteran police officer husband was found dead before authorities discovered a body believed to be hers.
WORCESTER, Mass. — Worcester police said a body believed to be that of mental health advocate Karen Solomon was found near a rehabilitation hospital Aug. 24, six days after her police officer husband was found dead at their home and she became the subject of an intensive search.
Police Chief Paul Saucier said investigators believed the deaths of 57-year-old Worcester Police Officer Kurt Solomon and his 58-year-old wife were a murder-suicide. Authorities had previously identified Karen Solomon as a suspect in her husband’s death and obtained an arrest warrant charging her with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. The chief’s description of the case remained an investigative conclusion, while forensic confirmation of the body’s identity and official determinations about the deaths were left to the medical examiner.
Kurt Solomon, a 31-year veteran of the Worcester Police Department, was found mortally injured at the couple’s Wildwood Avenue home shortly before 5:30 a.m. Aug. 18. Authorities said he had suffered injuries caused by a sharp object. Police did not publicly identify the object used or release a detailed account of what investigators believe happened inside the residence.
Karen Solomon was seen on doorbell video walking away from the area shortly after officers responded to the home. Police said she was believed to be armed and launched a search involving local, state and federal agencies. Search teams used drones, boats, police dogs and other resources around Coes Pond and neighborhoods near the couple’s home. Authorities also distributed her photograph and asked the public for information while warning people not to approach her.
An arrest warrant was later issued charging Karen Solomon with assault and battery with a dangerous weapon. The charge did not amount to a murder conviction or finding of guilt. Authorities were still seeking to question her about Kurt Solomon’s death when the search ended. Worcester County District Attorney Joseph Early Jr. said investigators believed she had been at the home around the time her husband was found.
Shortly before 1 p.m. Aug. 24, two employees of Fairlawn Rehabilitation Hospital reported finding a body in a wooded area near the May Street facility. Responding officers also found a handgun nearby, Saucier said. The chief said the firearm was not a Worcester police service weapon and that investigators were working to determine its ownership. He said police were confident the body was Karen Solomon’s, although the identification was initially considered preliminary pending review by the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Saucier said preliminary evidence led police to believe Karen Solomon died by suicide and that the two deaths were connected. “We believe this case is a tragic murder-suicide,” he said during the Aug. 24 news conference. Police said additional investigative and forensic work remained before all parts of the case could be closed. No later public report reviewed by Sept. 2 provided a newly released medical examiner ruling that changed the police department’s account.
The case drew added attention because Karen Solomon was widely known for work involving the mental health of police officers and other first responders. She founded and led First H.E.L.P., a nonprofit focused on reducing mental health stigma, supporting first responders and assisting families affected by suicide. The organization’s website lists her as its founder and president and credits her with writing books and articles about the physical and psychological challenges faced by law enforcement personnel and their families.
The circumstances created a painful contrast between Solomon’s public advocacy and the investigation into the deaths. First H.E.L.P. said during the search that its mission remained unchanged and expressed sympathy for Kurt Solomon, his family, colleagues and the Worcester law enforcement community. The organization said it would not comment on details of the active investigation, leaving determinations about what happened to authorities.
Kurt Solomon was remembered by colleagues as a dependable officer who had devoted more than three decades to Worcester. Hundreds of law enforcement officers, relatives and friends gathered Aug. 26 for his funeral Mass at Our Lady of the Angels Parish. A procession of police motorcycles escorted his casket to the church, and speakers remembered his service to the city as well as his life away from police work. His family had earlier thanked the agencies involved in the search and investigation for their support during what relatives described as a devastating week.
The discovery of the body ended the nearly weeklong search for Karen Solomon, but authorities said forensic work was still necessary to complete the investigation. As of Sept. 2, the publicly available reports reviewed continued to describe the case as an apparent murder-suicide based on the Worcester Police Department’s preliminary findings, with the medical examiner responsible for formal identification and official cause and manner-of-death determinations.
Author note: Last updated September 2, 2026.