Career criminal with over 20-year-long rap sheet reportedly gets sweetheart plea deal — now a beloved teacher is dead

A career criminal killed a beloved North Carolina teacher in a horrific home invasion, according to police — and new reports suggest the suspect previously received a sweetheart plea deal that allowed him back on the streets.

The Raleigh Police Department said in a statement that officers responded to a report of a burglary just after 6:30 a.m. Jan. 3.

'It was like a horror movie.'

Police said the victim — 57-year-old Zoe Welsh — indicated a man was inside her home.

"While still on the phone with dispatch, the suspect began to assault her," police stated.

Police said Welsh was suffering from life-threatening injuries when officers arrived at her home. However, Welsh later died at a hospital.

Officers arrested 36-year-old Ryan Camacho, and he was taken into custody without incident.

Camacho was charged with murder and felony burglary. He was denied bond and is being detained at the Wake County Detention Center.

Raleigh Police Chief Rico Boyce said of Welsh, "I am deeply heartbroken for this mother, friend, and mentor to many in our community, and for the unimaginable trauma her family must endure."

Boyce added, "The arrest of the suspect sends a strong message that criminal acts will not be tolerated in the city of Raleigh."

This investigation remains ongoing.

RELATED: 14-year-old 'angel' reportedly found dead in RV; alleged relative with criminal past charged with her murder, sexual assault

Welsh had taught AP biology and forensic science at Ravenscroft School in Raleigh since 2006, a school spokesperson told WTVD-TV.

"Her loss is deeply felt by all of us who had the privilege of working with her and learning in her classroom," the school spokesperson said.

Calysa Sauls, one of Welsh’s former students, told WRAL-TV, "She really cared for her students. She definitely was one of those teachers who was passionate about the subject that she taught."

Olivia Alvarez — Welsh's house cleaner for years — added to WTVD, "I'll remember her smile; she was always happy."

Alvarez added, "I love you, Zoe, so much, you are now with God, and this man is going to pay, he's going to pay."

North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein (D) wrote, "Zoe Welsh, by all accounts, was a special teacher and person. My heart goes out to her family and students, who have suffered a traumatic loss from another senseless act of violence."

Camacho reportedly has a lengthy criminal history spanning over 20 years but allegedly has benefited from generous plea deals.

In December, a judge dismissed breaking-and-entering charges against Camacho after a mental competency examination, WRAL noted in a separate story.

Prosecutors recommended that Camacho be involuntarily committed to a mental hospital, but that request was denied by Judge Louis Meyer, according to District Attorney Lorrin Freeman.

Freeman told WRAL, "Based on the evidence that was available to the court at the time, the court did not find that he met the threshold for involuntary commitment. For involuntary commitment, the judge has to make a finding that they are a danger to themselves or others."

Meyer did not immediately respond to Blaze News' request for comment.

WRAL reported that Camacho's lengthy rap sheet includes charges of assault with a deadly weapon, breaking and entering, larceny after breaking and entering, malicious conduct by a prisoner, injury to personal property, injury to real property, trespassing, stalking, and probation violations.

In 2025, Camacho reportedly got a sweetheart plea deal that allowed him back on the streets.

Citing public records, WRAL reported that Camacho faced up to a four-year prison sentence for four felony charges — but all the felonies were reduced to a single misdemeanor.

What's more, Camacho in 2021 attempted to escape from the Piedmont Correctional Institution in Salisbury, according to the North Carolina Department of Adult Correction.

Freeman on Monday said "he has spent a lot of time bouncing between the prison system and the local jails over the last few years and has really been in custody all but maybe a total of 12 months within the past six years."

RELATED: Pregnant woman disappears without a trace — but a grisly forest horror scene sends cops straight to her mother and stepfather

Wes Phillips — a long-time Raleigh resident — claimed he was forced to move after Camacho, his former neighbor, allegedly harassed and stalked his family nearly a decade ago.

In the spring of 2016, Phillips said he discovered two tires on his car were slashed and a mirror was torn off while a mirror on his wife's car also was torn off.

According to the Raleigh News and Observer, Phillips questioned Camacho about the vandalization of the cars, "The lightbulb sort of went on for me at that point, and I asked him, 'Did you touch my [expletive] car?'"

Phillips alleged that Camacho walked toward him and "cocked his fists into a fighting position." Phillips' wife reportedly broke things up.

In October 2016, as Hurricane Matthew hit North Carolina, Phillips noticed Camacho outside his home.

"It was like a horror movie, like he was standing there in a black jacket, staring at us in front of our house during a hurricane," Phillips told WRAL-TV. "Not talking, like making sure that we knew who he was."

Just days later, Phillips alleged that after he entered his vehicle and locked the doors, Camacho "was pulling on the door, trying to get in."

WRAL reported, "Security video from that day showed a man throw a rock into the windshield of Phillips' car and then through the sunroof, before punching and kicking the vehicle."

Phillips' landlord let him end the lease early so he and his family could move away from Camacho, but the suspect allegedly showed up at Phillips' new townhome with a gun.

Phillips explained, "He shot into our building where he thought that we lived. That's something that stays with us."

Citing court documents, WRAL reported that no one was injured in the shooting, but Camacho was arrested and spent two years in prison.

In fear of violence from Camacho, the Phillips family armed themselves with "lethal and non-lethal protection measures."

Phillips noted, "It's not like there weren’t signs. We were really adamant about the danger that we felt we were in, and perhaps other people were in, and it just wasn’t taken seriously."

Phillips said that there was a complete failure that led to a "woman being killed."

Phillips continued, "My wife and I are asking ourselves right now as we think about what happened this past week, how close did we come to being that person, and could that have been prevented?"

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!