By EMS1 Staff
TAMPA BAY, Fla. — A paramedic was arrested earlier this week for the murder of his girlfriend, whom he reported died by suicide 36 hours after her death.
Thomas Elmore Jr., 43, was charged with killing Tamara Naish on Sept. 21 after having an argument over financial issues. Elmore told officials he and Naish had gotten in a heated debate when Naish kicked his dog, prompting him to leave. When he returned, Elmore said he found Naish dead.
“The body was manipulated, evidence found at the scene is not consistent with a suicide, not consistent with Elmore’s side of the story,” Cristal Nunez, an official with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, told ABC News.
The arrest warrant stated a gun was found in Naish’s left hand; she is right-handed and had a defensive wound on her right hand.
“She was just a kind, gentle, beautiful soul that did not deserve to have her life taken away like this,” Vicki Jones Deacon, a friend of Naish’s, said.
The medical examiner also called the death inconsistent with a suicide.
Elmore is in jail without bail. He has a record of domestic violence.