Police identified Andrew Racca of Chevy Chase as the suspect and Carolyn Mattingly as the victim in Tuesday’s alleged murder-suicide in Potomac.
Police believe Racca killed Mattingly, 57, inside her home on Great Elm Drive after he was accused of theft by his boss and Carolyn Mattingly’s husband, C. Richard Mattingly at the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in Bethesda, where they both worked, according to a police statement released Wednesday.
Police believe Racca then killed himself either before or when the vehicle he was driving collided with a tree at the intersection of Piney Meetinghouse Road and River Road shortly after the slaying.
Racca, 42, worked as the director of network operations at the foundation. Richard Mattingly is the foundation’s executive vice president and chief operating officer.
Police said Mattingly had informed Racca on Monday about allegations that Racca was involved with workplace theft. Mattingly told him the foundation would report the theft to police, according to police.
On Tuesday, Racca did not come to work, police said. At 1:13 p.m. that day officers were called to the Great Elm Drive residence by Carolyn Mattingly, who reported that tires had been slashed on one of the vehicles at the home. Officers noted the condition of the tires and left the scene.
At 2:33 p.m., police received a call about a car colliding with a tree at Piney Meetinghouse Road at River Road. Inside the vehicle, first responders found Racca dead and a handgun.
Another call came in to police at 2:34 p.m. about a fire at the house on Great Elm Drive. There, firefighters extinguished a small fire in the garage and then found a badly burned body presumed to be Carolyn Mattingly, police said. The cause of her death remains under investigation.
Police have not identified any known relationship between Racca and Carolyn Mattingly. The cause of Racca’s death is also under investigation.
According to Racca’s public LinkedIn profile, he worked at the foundation since at least 2006 as a senior systems engineer before becoming the director of network operations in March 2014.
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation released a statement Wednesday saying they are cooperating fully with police as they continue the investigation.
“Our greatest concern is for the welfare of the Mattingly family and we share our deepest sympathies with them during this extraordinarily difficult time,” the foundation’s statement read.