Detectives with the New Hanover County Sheriff’s Office have identified the shooter in a murder-suicide reported Friday in the Porters Neck area.
The investigation has revealed that 79-year-old Darrell Simpson fatally shot his nephew, 59-year-old Steven Heald, and his wife, 79-year-old Linda Simpson, then shot himself, according to sheriff’s office spokesman Sgt. Jerry Brewer.
Deputies responded to a home in the 7700 block of Meadowlark Lane in the Plantation Village community at about noon Friday for a check welfare call. Three people were found dead inside the home, Brewer said.
According to 911 audio released by New Hanover County Emergency Services, Heald’s co-worker called 911 to report he went check on Heald after he didn’t show up to work Wednesday or Thursday. The man went to Darrell Simpson’s home to look for Heald and saw a person on the floor with a blanket over the body.
The sheriff’s office is working to confirm the date of death for all three people, Brewer said. Both Heald and Linda Simpson were shot twice.
Check back for more details on this developing story.
