Feature image via Lisa Trubnikova’s Facebook
Coast Guard officer Lisa Trubnikova and her wife, Anna Trubnikova, were shot in their home in Bourne, Massachusetts by 31-year-old co-worker Adrian Loya on Thursday. Lisa was killed while Anna remains in the hospital in stable condition. Speaking to The Boston Globe, Lisa’s family members said Loya, who entered the couple’s home and opened fire with two .223 caliber rifles, a shotgun and a .9 mm handgun, had been obsessed and fixated with Lisa since they were stationed in Alaska together.
Once police arrived at the scene of the shooting, Loya opened fire on them, seriously injuring Officer Jared MacDonald. He blocked police from entering the Trubnikovas’ condominium complex by setting a car on fire, and also planted fake bombs, in anticipation of the standoff, authorities said. Officer MacDonald is in stable condition in the hospital; his family believes he will make a full recovery.
Lisa’s brother, Luis Berlanga, told the Globe that Lisa and Anna met in a New Orleans Coast Guard recruitment office and began dating when his sister was stationed in Alaska.
“You couldn’t imagine two people who were better for each other,” he said. “They were so close. When they walked into a room, it lit up.”
They married in New York a couple of years ago, he said, and moved to Bourne together. Lisa Trubnikova was stationed at Joint Base Cape Cod in Bourne, and Anna Trubnikova was stationed at Woods Hole. Growing up in a Christian family in Texas, Lisa struggled with her identity in high school and was very shy, her brother said.
“She held it in,” he said.
But after high school, she came out as gay, with her family’s full support. When she met Anna, the family was thrilled.
Loya pleaded not guilty to murder charges the day of the shooting, and has been ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation. He is being held without bail.
United States Coast Guard Rear Admiral Linda Fagan, Commander of the First Coast Guard District issued the following statement:
In the wake of this tragedy, I invite everyone to join me in offering our thoughts and prayers for the families, friends and loved ones of those impacted. In committing our support to them, our focus turns to remembering the life and service of Petty Officer Lisa Trubnikova and aiding the recovery of Petty Officer Anna Trubnikova.
Luis Berlanga said that while his family was devastated about Lisa’s death, they “took comfort that she had accomplished so much in a short time. She had served her country, traveled, and fallen in love.”
You can donate to a GoFundMe campaign for Anna Trubnikova’s medical expenses here.
This is so hard sometimes. I hope her widower receives adequate healthcare and recovers fully. I know the teen survivor of the 2012 in Texas is still in outpatient physical therapy, recovering. Please let us know if you find out any way we can help, or send her letters at least.
I found this: http://www.gofundme.com/ltpf54
thanks for the link, this is heartbreaking
Thank you for sharing that, Leila.
Thank you for that link. I will add it to the post.
Anna is Lisa’s widow, not widower.
oops, I forgot which one was which
This is heartbreaking.
Awful but I’m sure they are going to throw the book at him.
Had this guy not shot a police officer he would probably get away with a slap on the wrist.
The globe article suggests that the two rifles were military weapons. Why was he allowed to have those if he wasn’t on duty for coast guard? Why is this allowed to happen? Why can he just plead mentally ill and hope to get away with it. So many things allow this to happen. This makes me so sad. Sending all of my love to Anna
Well it isn’t a matter of allowed to. It’s an option that every can try for and is rarely successful. I think what he did is awful, but if he is mentally ill, he should plead as appropriate. The family believes he was fixated on her, that in and of itself suggests some level of instability, most violent crimes do…hence why I think most pleas don’t carry a lot of weight.
I don’t know if the order for the evaluation means he’s pleading insanity/mentally ill though. That many be a military requirement. I also doubt he’s getting away with anything. I mean, like someone else pointed out, he shot at and seriously injured a cop. You shoot at a cop, you’re at least getting some time. It would take the world’s greatest lawyers to get you out of that. He’s also being held without bail.
For an insanity plea to work you have to be unable to distinguish right from wrong or have no control over your actions. If you are fixated on someone and you shoot someone even though you know its wrong, you still can be punished. I am really cynical of insanity pleas. If he says that he is insane, he needs to get a medical evaluation just to say that he is competent to go to trial. I don’t think its enough for to prove insanity- i think both sides get to bring expert witnesses in court. but if he’s mentally unfit for trial, you treat him until he’s competent and then he goes to court.
Insanity and mentally ill are different things. Hopefully he won’t be charged non-guilty by reason of insanity. Or if he is, there is always the possibility that he would be institutionalized for longer than he would have went to jail. There is no time limit on institutionalization because its not a punishment.
We don’t issue guns to our members and allow them to carry them around off duty.
This was chilling to read. The Patriarchy strikes again :( My condolences to the families, and especially to Anna.
This is unthinkable to me.
America: guns and shitty healthcare. It’s so incredibly tragic that this shit keeps happening. Just fucking no with the guns, alright? No.
This is heartbreaking and also terrifying to me. Male entitlement at its finest.
That he felt that he had the right to come into their home and end their happiness because he couldn’t have her. My heart goes out to the wife who has to recover alone. That is a lot of pain to bear.
It was Anna who passed away, not Lisa. You NEED to fix this!!!!!!!!
No.. It was Lisa. Her poor wife who has to deal with this horrific tragedy has to read all these news articles, I can only imagine how frustrating it must be to have some person acting like they know the situation and spitting out wrong information and stating I was passed and not my wife. I’m sure she thinks heart breaking things about her wife and how she would rather it be her instead, on a daily basis. I say this because my daughter was stillborn even though my situation wasn’t nearly as tragic, I still everyday have crazy thoughts along those lines. You can’t help how you feel what so ever. So with that being said if you’re not sure the facts you’re saying, my guess would be either wait until you know or just don’t say anything.