North Carolina teacher’s murder suspect released on plea deal months earlier

The career criminal who allegedly killed a beloved North Carolina teacher while she was on the phone to 911, begging for help, was cut loose on a sweetheart plea deal just months before he was accused of breaking into her home, public documents show.

Ryan Camacho, 36, had a decade-long criminal history before he was accused of killing Zoe Welsh, a private school teacher, at her home in Raleigh, NC, while she was on the phone with 911 dispatchers.

The long rap sheet included a string of home invasions in April 2025 that were initially charged as Class H felonies — but prosecutors downgraded them as part of a plea deal.

Had he been convicted of any of the four felony charges, he would have faced an eight to 10-month sentence.

A conviction on all four counts would have resulted in a prison sentence of between three and four years, ensuring he was behind bars on the morning of Jan. 3, when he is alleged to have broken into Welsh’s home and killed her.

Instead, Camacho pleaded guilty last July to a Class I misdemeanor charge of breaking and entering, and was sentenced to a maximum of 120 days, according to court records seen by WRAL News.

He was originally charged with felony breaking and entering to terrorize or injure and larceny after breaking and entering, over an April 3, 2025, incident, in which he broke into a woman’s home in Durham, NC, and tried to steal a $2 beer bottle, court records show.

Three days later, he broke into a nearby HOA-owned building and tried to steal an $8 case of water, and was charged with breaking and entering, and larceny after breaking and entering, according to court documents.

Camacho, who has a history of mental health issues, is due in court next on Jan. 26 on charges of murder and felony burglary.

He has been arrested more than 20 times in the past 10 years in both Wake and Durham counties, but on most occasions was either charged with a misdemeanor or the cases were dropped, court records show.

His mother, Cynthia Camacho, sought and was granted guardianship over him multiple times, citing “incompetency,” records show.

Last month, breaking-and-entering charges against Camacho were dismissed in a separate case after a competency examination.

A request from prosecutors to have Camacho involuntarily committed was denied by Wake County Judge Louis Meyer, according to county DA Lorrin Freeman.

Judge Meyer didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Tar Heel state officials have called on lawmakers to do more on keeping repeat offenders with mental health challenges off the streets.

“We have to do a better job with this intersection between folks out there who are paranoid, they’re delusional, who can pose risks,” Gov. Josh Stein (D) told WRAL Tuesday.

“Obviously, not everybody with mental health challenges are a violent risk, but there are some who are, and we are not doing a good enough job treating those folks,” he added.

However, North Carolina Republicans have slammed the Dems for not being tough enough on criminals.

“This is a soft-on-crime problem that, I believe, really rests on the Democrats,” Rep. Erin Paré (R-37) told WRAL

“And where the legislature can come in is, we can zip up the law. We can require judges to make some decisions that will make our community safer. We can be tougher on crime. But we also need to address mental health, and that does require funding, and I’m in favor of that as a budget writer,” she said.