Murder-Suicide: 3 Young Girls Left With No Parents, NC
Posted on Mon, Oct. 23, 2006 Two dead in apparent murder-suicide Police have not released names SHARIF DURHAMS AND KYTJA WEIR sdurhams@charlotteobserver.com kweir@charlotteobserver.com LANDIS - Police in this Rowan County town were investigating what appeared to be a murder-suicide Monday that left three young girls without parents. Authorities were called to the home on Kimball Loop Road off Mount Moriah Church Road about 4:30 p.m., according to Rowan County emergency dispatchers. Landis police Lt. Gary Phillips said it appeared to be a murder-suicide involving two people. Police had not released the names of the dead late Monday, Phillips said, because they were still trying to notify family members. But they said the three children who lived at the home weren't there at the time of the deaths in the town of about 3,000 people just north of Kannapolis. Neighbors said they never noticed trouble at the home until Monday. Several said they saw a police car at the house earlier in the day. Then police returned once the bodies were discovered and stayed late into the evening. They seemed like a normal family, neighbors said, with three girls, ages 4, 6 and 8. The family also had two beagles, neighbors said, until recently when one of the dogs died. They moved in less than a year ago. But so had many in the neighborhood of newly built homes. The two parents often mowed their lawn together, each pushing a mower, said neighbor Angela Morgan. The husband seemed shy, she said. But she'd often see him playing badminton and soccer in the yard with the girls. Sometimes she would spot them jumping on a trampoline together. He apparently worked at an aluminum company, one neighbor said. The wife ran a house-cleaning business, Morgan said. A minivan emblazoned with the name was parked in the driveway of the one-story white house on Monday evening as police filled the neighborhood. http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/15831898.htm

Posted on Mon, Oct. 23, 2006 Couple identified in apparent murder-suicide Children weren't home during the incident SHARIF DURHAMS AND KYTJA WEIR sdurhams@charlotteobserver.com kweir@charlotteobserver.com LANDIS - Police in this Rowan County town were investigating what appeared to be a murder-suicide Monday that left three young girls without parents. Authorities were called to the home on Kimball Loop Road off Mount Moriah Church Road about 4:30 p.m., according to Rowan County emergency dispatchers. Landis police Lt. Gary Phillips said it appeared to be a murder-suicide involving a man and a woman. Police identified the couple as Phillip and Priscilla Huffman. The three children who lived at the home weren't there at the time of the deaths in the town of about 3,000 people just north of Kannapolis, police said. Their grandmother had picked them up from school. The girls were with their grandmother as of Monday night, police added. Neighbors said they never noticed trouble at the home until Monday. Several said they saw a police car at the house earlier in the day. Then police returned once the bodies were discovered and stayed late into the evening. They seemed like a normal family, neighbors said, with three girls, ages 4, 6 and 8. The family also had two beagles, neighbors said, until recently when one of the dogs died. They moved in less than a year ago. But so had many in the neighborhood of newly built homes. The two parents often mowed their lawn together, each pushing a mower, said neighbor Angela Morgan. The husband seemed shy, she said. But she'd often see him playing badminton and soccer in the yard with the girls. Sometimes she would spot them jumping on a trampoline together. He apparently worked at an aluminum company, one neighbor said. The wife ran a house-cleaning business, Morgan said. A minivan emblazoned with the name Affordable House Cleaning was parked in the driveway of the one-story white house on Monday evening as police filled the neighborhood. Staff writer Lindsay Pollard contributed to this report. http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/15831898.htm