WASHINGTON — A Prince George’s County police officer and his mother have been charged with shooting two people in a Waldorf McDonald’s parking lot, the Charles County Sheriff’s Office announced Tuesday.
Richard Conway, 26, of Waldorf, is charged with first-degree murder for the shooting death of his former wife’s new husband, Robert Mange, plus attempted first-degree murder for the shooting of his former wife, Krystal Mange.
His mother Caroline Conway, 51, of Waldorf, is also charged with first-degree murder plus attempted first-degree murder, assault and reckless endangerment.
Investigators say mother and son conspired before and after the shooting but that it was Caroline Conway who pulled the trigger, likely using her son’s duty weapon, according to charging documents.
“We believe that it definitively was a deliberative act,” says Charles County Sheriff Tory Berry, who called the crime a “heinous event.”
Robert and Krystal Mange had arranged to meet Richard Conway at the McDonald’s near the St. Charles Towne Center to exchange custody of their two children the evening of May 20.
According to court documents, Caroline Conway climbed into the back seat of the car where Robert and Krystal Mange were waiting and pointed a gun at the couple. She ordered Krystal Mange to call her former husband and arrange a new meeting location and time.
Richard Conway agreed to exchange the children instead later that evening at a Charles County government building. At some point, Robert Mange tried to take the gun from Caroline Conway, who then began shooting, striking Mange.
Krystal Mange was shot as she tried to flee the car.
Robert Mange, 25, of Smithfield, Virginia, was shot multiple times and killed. His wife Krystal, 24, was seriously injured from a gunshot wound to her back. She has since been released from the hospital, court documents say.
While her son stood next to her, Caroline Conway told a witness that she shot the Manges with her son’s work gun because of an ongoing custody dispute. She changed clothes and asked another witness for a trash bag. About 30 minutes had passed since the shooting.
But Richard Conway told investigators that he drove around the Waldorf area with his children and mother until he was supposed to meet Krystal Mange at the new exchange location. He sent her several text messages and called her after the shooting wondering where she was, court document say.
“Richard Conway was aware his mother Caroline Conway shot victim Krystal Mange, but continued to send text message and attempted to call her as if nothing happened after knowing she was shot,” detectives wrote in the charging documents.
The gun used in the shooting has not been recovered. But Ballistic evidence matched the caliber gun and the brand of bullets used by Prince George’s County police officers.
Richard Conway was arrested Monday at the home he shared with his mother, who was arrested soon after the shooting. He and Caroline Conway were being held without bond at the Charles County detention center.
Conway was off duty at the time of the shooting. He has been suspended without pay from his patrol bureau job with the Prince George’s County Police Department, which is cooperating with Charles County investigators.
In a statement, Prince George’s Police Chief Mark Magaw called the charges against Conway “deeply troubling.”
WTOP’s Megan Cloherty contributed to this report from La Plata, Maryland.
