An Alabama town has been rocked by the murder-suicide of a family of four that police describe ‘as tragic as it comes’.
On Thursday morning, the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office discovered a tragic scene at a family’s residence, where four individuals, including two children, were found deceased from apparent gunshot wounds.
The investigators suspect that 41-year-old Larrica Gaines Smith and her children, 15-year-old Khristian Smith and 11-year-old Kinsley Smith, were tragically shot by her husband, Kenneth O’Neil Smith Jr., aged 44.
Authorities responded to the home in Daphne, located near Mobile, after they received a concerned call for a welfare check from a relative in the early hours of the morning.
Sheriff Anthony Lowery said the children’s cell phones were ringing as authorities investigated the scene, reported AL.com.
“Those were their friends,” Lowery explained. “In my 29-year career, this marks only the second occasion where I’ve handled a case entailing the entire family being killed.”
‘It looks like some type of domestic issue that escalated into this. It’s as tragic as it comes.’
Police identified Kenneth as the presumed shooter based on forensic and circumstantial evidence collected at the location, including a retrieved handgun, according to WALA.
It is believed by investigators that Larrica Gaines Smith (center), along with her children, Khristian Smith (left), 15, and Kinsley Smith (right), 11, fell victim to being shot by her husband, Kenneth O’Neil Smith Jr., aged 44.
‘We will absolutely work this like any other homicide investigation. There is no reason to believe anything happened anywhere else but inside the house,’ Lowery said.
‘The neighbors are really hurting. This is a quiet neighborhood. They are proud of where they live here.’
The sheriff said his department will continue to investigate the crime, but believes it stemmed from a ‘domestic issue.’
‘We may never get all of the answers because there won’t be a suspect to interview or anything along those lines so we’ll have to use our forensic techniques as best we can to piece it back together and we’ll rely on [that] information,’ he said.
‘We’ll talk to friends and family and coworkers and all those things to try and find out as much as we can.’
Crisis response teams have been made available at Daphne High School and Daphne East Elementary School, where the children attended.
Neighbor Shannon Brannon told the local news that she is in shock and described the Smiths’ as ‘just the nicest, sweetest family’.
‘Their kids were so sweet. They babysat my daughter. Just good people. She just told me they celebrated their wedding anniversary two weeks ago and was happy about it, so I just don’t understand. I don’t understand how this could happen,’ she said.
Larrica worked as a realtor and neighbors described the family as the ‘nicest’ and ‘sweetest’ people
The family of four were found dead from apparent gunshot wounds in their home on Thursday morning
Larrica worked as a realtor and her former colleague Sue Lyon, owner of Exit Realty Lyon, told the outlet she was stunned by the news.
‘You’d just kind of imagine it would be a certain type of family that would happen to and you’d never think something like that would happen to them because she was always so quiet and polite and everything, but I mean…it’s horrible,’ Lyon said.
Larrica stopped working at the agency is 2018, but Lyon said she was a talented realtor and unforgettable.
‘She was so sweet, she was very quiet,’ she said. ‘She was the kind of person that you just thought, man she’s gonna work so great in real estate.’
