Authorities in Tennessee are investigating a tragic double murder-suicide that left three people dead, including an 8-year-old girl, Us Weekly has learned.
Sorrow has befallen McMinnville following the Sunday, March 8, killings of Randi Jean Shelton and her daughter, Thea, by the girl’s father, Joseph Nicholas Shelton, Jr.
After shooting his wife and daughter to death, police said Joseph allegedly died by suicide.
Investigators did not release the ages of either adult victim.
A Warren County Sheriff’s Office deputy responded to a welfare check at a residence on Greenwood Drive around 2 p.m., and entered the home.
Once inside, the deputy found the three bodies. It was unclear how long the Sheltons were married, or what may have precipitated Sunday’s horrifying violence.
In a statement on Facebook, Sheriff Jackie D. Matheny, Jr. asked that “the community keep the families affected by this tragedy in their thoughts and prayers. This heartbreaking situation has impacted multiple families, including children who will forever carry the weight of this loss. Our prayers are also with the law enforcement officers and first responders who answered this call and are now tasked with working through the painful details of such a devastating event.”
Police did not provide information on how they determined Joseph was the gunman. They have characterized the murder-suicide as domestic-related.
Randi’s employer, Warren County Apparel Graphic Design, Inc., said in its own post she was “much more than” an employee.
“She was our daughter-in-law’s best friend and a family friend for many years,” read a post from Warren County Apparel Graphic Design, Inc., noting Randi started working there four years ago. “She and Thea were both just sweet souls and they were greatly loved and will be forever in our hearts.”
Sadly, this is only the latest murder-suicide to happen in the country in the last month.
Florida authorities were investigating what could have led a mother to slaughter her two children in a double murder-suicide that left neighbors shocked
Deputies from the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office received a call on February 26 from a troubled father traveling abroad at the time, concerned after he was unable to reach his wife and kids.
Deputies arrived and found evidence of a crime outside the family’s residence, they alleged. After entering the home, authorities found Josh James, 14, Emma James, 11, and their mother Monika Rubacha, 44, all dead. The three bodies were found in separate rooms, according to a sheriff’s office statement.
Another concerned dad’s calls led Las Vegas cops to the tragic scene of a murder-suicide involving a mother and daughter from Utah.
Tawnia McGeehan, 38, and Addi Smith, 11, were found dead in their hotel room near the Las Vegas Strip on February 15. The pair were in town for a cheerleading competition. The girl had been at the center of a bitter custody battle, and reports suggest the mother had recently been bullied by other cheer moms with daughters on her child’s team.
And in Alabama, a man recently entered a hospital where his wife had just given birth to their first child and killed her before then dying by suicide.
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or considering suicide, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
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