The Lake Royale Company Police Chief tells WRAL that a husband and wife are dead after an apparent murder-suicide unfolded in the front yard of a home on Sunlight Cove near Lake Royale Friday morning.
Police say the couple's child under the age of 10 was found safe inside the home. He reported to police that he heard the gunshots around midnight.
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Police identified the husband and wife as Kevin Killworth and Kimberly Killworth.
"Every indication we’ve found, and statements that were given by the juvenile, stated it was around midnight when he heard two loud pops," Chief Robert Smith said. "And other neighbors we talked to say they thought they heard a car door slamming very loud around that same time."
Law enforcement was not called to the scene until around 9:30 a.m. Friday. When officers arrived, they found the husband sitting in a chair in the driveway. His wife was found in the yard.
A neighbor, Jharrison Gillespie, saw the man while he was out running early Friday morning.
"What stood out to me, though, was the fact a man was sitting in the driveway at 5 o'clock in the morning, and he hadn't moved the entire time," Gillespie told WRAL.
Chief Smith said at the scene that the husband was a Navy veteran who had been having a hard time transitioning into civilian life.
The Killworths married in 2024. The child was placed in the care of DSS, according to the police department.
At least one ambulance and multiple marked law enforcement vehicles were on the scene, and Sunlight Cove was closed to traffic.
Lake Royale police, the Franklin County Sheriff's Office and the State Bureau of Investigation are investigating.