A North Carolina couple was found dead inside their home Thursday, only a day after marking their 40th wedding anniversary.
Authorities are investigating the deaths of Tracey Parker Willetts, 58, and Stephen Larnell Willetts, 65, as a murder-suicide, as relatives shared details of the family’s painful past.
The couple were discovered with apparent gunshot wounds at their Wilmington residence early Thursday after a smartwatch worn by one of them detected a fall and automatically contacted 911, WWAY reports.
Emergency medical crews were initially unable to get inside the home, and deputies with the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office ultimately forced entry through a garage door, according to WECT.
Tracey and Stephen Willetts were pronounced dead at the scene.
During the investigation, deputies said they found evidence indicating Tracey fatally shot her husband before turning the gun on herself.
Investigators have not publicly identified a motive. A family member, however, described the deep losses the couple had faced in the years before their deaths.
Fuller Royal, who identified himself on Facebook as Tracey’s second cousin, wrote that the Willetts lost their son Zack in 2013 and their other son, Colby, one year later.
Tracey Parker Willetts and Stephen Larnell Willetts were found dead in a suspected murder-suicide Thursday morning
Deputies were called to the scene of their Wilmington home after one of their smartwatches detected a fall and the alarm wasn’t turned off
‘I can’t begin to imagine how much that hurt and what they went through,’ Royal wrote. ‘I pray they are reunited with their boys and that everyone is whole, safe and at peace.’
It was unclear how the sons had died.
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Royal also used his post to remember the family, describing Stephen as a ‘lifelong friend’ who ‘helped a lot of people’ during his work as an EMT.
Others remembered Stephen for his friendly personality, with neighbor Wyatt Heartline saying ‘he was always down to have a conversation.’
‘I’m a runner and he’d often ask me how my progress is going or walking our dogs and just a brief “hello,”‘ he recounted to WECT. ‘He was consistent and one of the friendliest people I’ve met around here.
‘The neighborhood is thoroughly shocked,’ the neighbor added.
Another neighbor, Andy Johnson, said he would regularly see Stephen walking his dog.
‘He’s retired Army,’ he said of the former EMT. ‘I was in the Army myself, so we spent a lot of time talking in the afternoons and stuff as he came by.’
Meanwhile, a friend of Tracey’s told WWAY that she was someone who always wanted to do the right thing for people in her community – and noted that Wednesday marked the couple’s 40th wedding anniversary.
Neighbors described Stephen as a friendly man who would always engage in a conversation, while a friend of Tracey’s said she always wanted to do the right thing for people in her community
The couple lost their son, Zack (pictured top), in 2013 and their other son, Colby (pictured bottom), the following year
The couple was also well-known in the Wrightsville Beach paddleboarding community, with Jared Covington, the owner of Wrightsville SUP, saying he had known them for more than a decade.
‘We became like family, just sharing a love for being outside on the water, paddleboarding,’ Covington said.
He remembered the couple as being energetic, outgoing and devoted to one another.
