Case Explained: Man with criminal past remained free before NC teacher’s death, retired judge shares why :: WRAL.com – Legal Perspective

Authorities are holding the man accused of killing a
Ravenscroft teacher in the Wake County Detention Center.

Given Ryan Camacho’s 20-year criminal history in Durham and
Wake counties, it leads to the questions:

• Why wasn’t Camacho at the Wake County Detention Center instead of being accused of killing Zoe Welsh on Saturday in her home?
• Why wasn’t Camacho in a mental institution?

In December 2025, a Wake County judge declined a
prosecutor’s request to involuntarily commit Camacho to a mental hospital.

Retired Superior Court Judge Carl Fox said he did not see
any red flags in terms of how Camacho’s previous cases were handled.

WRAL News asked Fox why Camacho wasn’t in jail or a mental health
institution.

“Just committing a bunch of crimes, like property crime kind
of things, is not something that makes you necessarily committable,” Fox said. “It’s
not dangerous to property. It’s dangerous to [people].”

According to Fox, a judge makes the final call on whether a person is involuntarily committed based on their recent charges. Fox said a judge asks several questions when making this decision.

“Has the person threatened folks?” Fox said. “Has the person assaulted folks? Has the person shot at folks? What has he done recently?”

Fox said even if Camacho was involuntarily committed, there is
no telling how long he could have stayed behind bars.

“He could have been released at any point after he went to Central Regional Hospital,” Fox said of Camacho.

Murder suspect may have been sleeping in park before alleged murder, Raleigh police say

On Tuesday, Raleigh police said there is a belief that Camacho may have been sleeping in Fletcher Park before Welsh’s death. Police said investigators cannot determine how long he may have been there.

A lawyer for Camacho declined to comment. 

In the past six months, Raleigh police have responded to eight 911 calls at Fletcher Park. Also, officers initiated 44 calls for service at the park during the same time span. Of those self-initiated calls, police said 37 were conducted as security checks.

Security footage obtained by WRAL News appeared to show Camacho just two hours before Welsh’s death walking down the street. According to one neighbor, he was exhibiting concerning behavior before he was taken into custody.

“He kind of caught my eye, [and] not in a good way,” said the neighbor, who asked to remain anonymous. “The dog next door barked at him, and he stopped, leaned over the fence and spit on the dog, which I thought was disturbing behaior.”

Man says shooting suspect harassed his family for over a year

A video from 2016 showed Camacho smashing the windows of Wes
Phillips’ car. Phillips said Camacho returned two years later to shoot into
what he thought was their home.

“This wasn’t some random thing,” Phillips said.

Nearly a decade later, before Welsh’s death, Camacho is
accused of breaking into the St. Mary’s Square North Apartments. WRAL News
asked Raleigh police to confirm that accusation.

In 2018, a neighbor on NextDoor said they experienced a break-in the Five Points area. According to the post, their home was broken into on Georgetown Road. An account that appeared to match Camacho’s name location and appearance left a comment on the post detailing how people break into a home, raning from people claiming to be looking for someone wo saying they’re at the wrong address.

“To that, I’d say, that sounds like an expert,” Phillips said.

It is unclear if Camacho played any role in the break-in referenced in the NextDoor post.

WRAL anchor/reporter Eric Miller contributed to this story.