HICKORY, N.C. — Three people were killed and a fourth was seriously injured in an apparent double murder-suicide in Hickory Monday night, police said.
Hickory Police were called to a reported shooting off 17th Avenue NE around 9 o'clock. When officers got to the home, they found 32-year-old Roxanne Auton Mitchem in the front yard. She was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound on the scene.
When officers went inside, they found two other people dead from gunshot wounds. They were identified as 34-year-old Jessica Rose Fowler and her estranged husband, 37-year-old David Christopher Convington. Detectives said Covington died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
A fourth victim ran from the apartment and was found on 16th Avenue Northeast, police said. He was rushed to a hospital and is being treated for serious injuries.
Hickory Police said two children, both under the age of 10, were home at the time of the shooting. Both kids were not injured during the incident.
Court documents obtained by NBC Charlotte revealed Covington and Fowler's relationship consisted of multiple domestic violence allegations dating back nearly a decade.
In 2010, Covington accused Fowler of keying his car and harassing him. In January 2011, Fowler accused Covington of assault, writing "...he grabbed me and left scratches and a bruise on my right arm."
She requested a judge grant her a domestic violence protection. The file included a copy of a Facebook message, which appeared to have been written by Covington and sent to another person, saying, "I couldn't by [sic] with her just for a child..I love the kid but not her...that wouldn't be a happy home..one of us would have been leaving in a body bag and it [expletive] show [sic] wouldn't have beed [sic] me! Lol!"
A judge ultimately denied Fowler's request, and Covington was found not guilty of assault.
No arrests have been made in connection to Monday night's shooting, which remains under investigation.