Husband is arrested after he ‘shot dead his estranged wife, 31, while their two children, ages 5 and 7, were in the home and then kidnapped his son’

A man has been arrested for allegedly murdering his estranged wife in front of their two children in the home they once shared – then immediately fled the crime scene with one of the children.

The Oklahoma City father, identified as 34-year-old chemist Chase Ainsworth, was apprehended Saturday just hours after the gruesome murder, which occurred around 3 p.m. and left 31-year-old Samantha Ainsworth dead at the scene.

Now mourned by friends and family, Samantha had two children with her former husband — a seven-year-old daughter and a five-year-old son — who were both in the S. Land Avenue home when the incident happened.

When police arrived at the home around 3pm to respond to a domestic violence call, Samantha – who is believed to have been stabbed – was already dead and the seven-year-old was found alone at the scene.

Investigators who later described the girl as visibly ‘upset’ quickly identified the prime suspect as the victim’s estranged husband, also discovering that Ainsworth had “fled the scene” in a car with the other child, later identified as Simon Ainsworth.

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The Oklahoma City father, identified as 34-year-old chemist Chase Ainsworth, was apprehended Saturday just hours after the gruesome murder, which occurred around 3 p.m. and left 31-year-old Samantha Ainsworth – his estranged husband – dead at the scene

Samantha had two children with her ex – a seven-year-old daughter and a five-year-old son – who were both at home when the incident happened. After Ainsworth allegedly killed his ex, he fled with his son, leaving his daughter with her mother’s corpse.

Police say both children are now safe. Simon finds himself on an Oklahoma highway with his father – who is also charged with child theft – less than three hours after leaving the crime scene.

OKCPD Captain Michelle Henderson gave an update on Saturday about what her force believed had happened on Saturday, after which police issued a “threatened missing advisory” for Ainsworth warning the pharmacist “may be armed with a knife.”

“About 2:50 p.m. this afternoon, we had a neighbor go to the house to pick up the seven-year-old for a playdate and found the mother was hurt inside,” Henderson said Saturday when Oklahoma Highway Patrolmen located Ainsworth’s car. Black Kia Soul into a nearby residence and rescued the boy.

“The 7-year-old was there, the five-year-old was gone,” the top agent added. Clearly the 7-year-old was very upset; the neighbors who discovered this were very upset.

“We only work through information that is very traumatic for everyone.”

Oklahoma Highway Patrol added that the five-year-old had been safely located with father, an experienced chemist whom police warned in their emergency advisory was known to be “using drugs.”

A LinkedIn profile linked to the father-of-two shows that he has worked in a professional lab environment for the past ten years and received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Oklahoma’s University of Science of Arts in 2011.

Most recently, he worked as a laboratory specialist at chemical manufacturer Guide Energy Solutions in nearby Prague, Oklahoma.

When police arrived at the home on S. Land Avenue around 3 p.m. to respond to a domestic violence call, Samantha — who is believed to have been stabbed — was already dead and the seven-year-old herself was found at the scene.

Investigators who later described the girl (seen at right) as visibly “upset” soon identified the prime suspect as the victim’s estranged husband, and also found that Ainsworth had “fled the scene” in a car with the other child, later identified as Simon Ainsworth. (left)

Police say both children are now safe, although their mother – believed to have been stabbed – succumbed to her injuries at the scene. A cause of death has yet to be released

Oklahoma Highway Patrol added that the five-year-old had been safely located along with father, whom police warned in their emergency advisory was likely “armed with a knife” and “known to be on drugs”

According to the company’s social media, it has about 20 employees and is focused on “developing chemistry and services that meet the demands of the changing market.”

A Facebook page associated with the small service-oriented solutions states that the company “develops, manufactures and deploys optimized fluid systems.” It was founded in 2019 – the same year that Ainsworth, according to his LinkedIn, joined.

DailyMail.com has reached out for comment.

In addition to the highway emergency advisory, authorities also issued an Amber Alert for Simon immediately after discovering the child was present and had effectively been abducted, and a search of Ainsworth’s 2012 Kia ensued.

Highway Patrol has since said the vehicle was located by a patrol car at around 6:45 p.m., after which troopers tracked the child and suspect to another home associated with the suspect, on the 12000 block of Chisolm Road.

Police said they encountered Ainsworth there and the boy was barricaded in a house, leading officers to force their way into the house where they found Simon and took Ainsworth into custody.

Capt. Henderson called the development “the best case scenario that ends in a terrible situation” and described the bailout Saturday to NBC affiliate KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City.

OKCPD Captain Michelle Henderson described on Saturday how officers rescued the boy from a barricaded house that also linked the suspect

Highway Patrol has since said Einsworth’s vehicle was located by a patrol car around 6:45 p.m., where troopers tracked the child and suspect to another home associated with the suspect, on the 12000 block of Chisolm Road (seen here). )

A LinkedIn profile linked to the father-of-two shows that he has worked in a professional lab environment for the past ten years and received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Oklahoma’s University of Science of Arts in 2011. as a lab specialist at chemical manufacturer Guide Energy Solutions in nearby Prague, Oklahoma (pictured)

“We could see the child sitting by the window, so we teamed up to get the child and no one was hurt.”

Ainsworth has since been booked in the Cleveland County Jail on the aforementioned murder and child theft charges – both first-degree felonies – where he is being held without bail.

On Sunday evening, friends and family of Samantha gathered to honor the late mother – who has regularly posted photos of the family together since 2020.

In February 2022, she posted on Facebook an image from the popular crime drama Ozark, which centers on a money laundering couple living in the rural region not far from where the Ainsworths lived.

Police said Monday that the investigation into the murder is still ongoing. They have not yet released a cause of death.