Robert Mascarena, 38, is accused of killing Patricia Mascarena, 55, in front of his 12-year-old niece, whom he then threatened to kill, according to charging documents. The niece fled the residence and called law enforcement.

When BPD officers and YCSO deputies arrived on scene, they were informed that Mascarena was armed with a Glock pistol and a knife.

Officers used a battering ram to force entry into the home and found the victim on the living room floor. Mascarena had barricaded himself in a bedroom and climbed out a window. Officers found he was covered in blood.

The victim suffered from deep puncture and laceration wounds to the neck. Life-saving efforts were made by police and AMR. These efforts were unsuccessful and the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The cause of death was multiple stab wounds, according to a news release from the Yellowstone County Sheriff’s Office.

Robert Mascarena was shot by a sheriff’s deputy but was not seriously injured during the confrontation at the home. The deputy, Kevin Stahlberg, has been with the sheriff’s office for just over two years, Sheriff Mike Linder said Tuesday. Stahlberg has been placed on routine temporary administrative leave while the incident is reviewed, Linder said.

The Billings Police Department is investigating the homicide.

While youth violence has been a focus of public safety attention and anxiety, domestic and family violence accounts for 59% of violent crime in the city, according to the Billings Police Department. There were approximately 1,059 cases of domestic violence reported annually between 2018 and 2023.

Domestic violence and violent crime in general are closely linked. At a public meeting in January on tackling youth crime, Eric Owen, Riverstone Health’s vice president of public health and clinical services, described how childhood trauma, such as witnessing domestic violence, can lead to behavioral problems and later involvement in violent crime.

Mascarena’s murder is not the first fatal domestic incident this year. In February, Kyle Maxwell, 30, was driven off the road after a fight in the West End.

Just over three years ago, in January 2021, another Billings man fatally stabbed his mother. Beau Papin, who was 20 at the time of the murder, was sentenced to 75 years in the Department of Health and Human Services for killing Jessica Papin. He was sentenced to inpatient treatment at Montana State Hospital rather than prison because of his schizophrenia.

Friday’s homicide is the second stabbing death this year. All eight other homicides in Billings this year involved firearms.

Mascarena’s bail was set at $500,000.