CHESAPEAKE, Va. – More details are surfacing about a Chesapeake woman that was found dead inside her home on Tuesday, as well as her relationship with the man who has been arrested in connection with her death.
On Tuesday, Chesapeake Police identified the woman as 44-year-old Kathryn Kathleen Dean. The family said Dean was a great person who was getting out of an abusive relationship with 46-year-old Ben Matthew Wynkoop when it turned deadly.
News 3 obtained a copy of a protective order petitioned by Dean against Wynkoop. The order was filed through Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court on March 23 and was valid for one year. It stated it was in regard to family abuse.
Police records show authorities were called to the home twice in March 2022 and once in July 2021.
Bennie L. Wynkoop, Ben's father and Dean's father-in-law, talked to News 3 on the phone, saying they are still in shock. Bennie says he is retired, having served as an officer in the Norfolk Police Department and the U.S. Navy.
"We loved Kat more like a daughter than a daughter-in-law. She had a good heart, a good soul. She didn’t deserve this," Bennie Wynkoop said. "Our hearts go out to her family and her children. This should never have happened to her."
Dean was found dead inside a home in the 600 block of Willow Oak Drive Monday morning. Authorities say she had been shot.
A 911 call came in at 9:30 a.m. for a domestic dispute. When police arrived at the scene, they said they saw that the door to the home was open.
Police had named Ben Wynkoop as a person of interest in the homicide investigation. Detectives previously said he was at large and described him as "armed and extremely dangerous."
According to officials, Wynkoop was caught by deputies with the Currituck County Sheriff's Office before 5 p.m. during a traffic stop.
News 3 spoke with the woman’s family and friends off-camera. They said she had two children from another marriage. She also had three stepchildren but no children with Wynkoop. They said she was in the process of filing for divorce.
One neighbor said she had seen police at the home several times in the past year and a half. News 3 is working to verify the number of times that police have been called to the home.
Wynkoop has been extradited to Chesapeake, where he awaits trial in the Chesapeake City Jail without bond. He has been charged with 1st Degree Murder and the Use of a Firearm in the Commission of a Felony.
A family friend of Dean's reached out to News 3 alerting us to a GoFundMe established to help Dean's family with funeral costs. If you'd like to donate, click here.
If you need help right away, you can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 800-799-7233 and ask to be directed to resources in your neighborhood, or find a shelter and emergencyhelp near you. For Hampton Roads residents, you can contact the Samaritan House or click here for a list of resources by region.
