3 dead in Lexington Co. double murder-suicide in ‘family argument that turned violent and tragic,' sheriff’s office says

LEXINGTON COUNTY, S.C. (WIS) - According to the Lexington County Sheriff’s Department, three people are dead following a suspected double murder-suicide Tuesday.

“Deputies responded to a business on Railroad Avenue Tuesday evening in response to a welfare check and found two bodies with gunshot wounds,” Lexington County Sheriff Jay Koon said. “Shortly after deputies arrived on that scene, we responded to a call of a shot fired on Mooring Lane.”

Christopher McCutchan and Tammy Ricard were identified by Lexington County Coroner Margaret Fisher as the people found dead on Railroad Avenue. Fisher said the body of Heath McCutchan was retrieved from Lake Murray in the 200 block of Mooring Lane late Tuesday night.

Doug Roder, who lives in The Landings neighborhood said he was inside his home watching TV Tuesday night when he heard a gunshot around 6:30 p.m.

“We heard what we thought was a gunshot and I walked outside I thought it was very strange and I looked in the water and in between the two docks I saw something on the surface of the water but it was hard to make out what it was,” Roder said.

The Lexington County dive team continued to search the lake Wednesday morning searching for potential evidence.

“They were in the water for a long time, for hours and hours,” Roder said. “I knew something bad had to have happened. It was pretty shocking, it really was. Things like this never happen around here.”

“Based on the evidence we’ve collected and the interviews we’ve conducted, this appears to be a family argument that turned violent and tragic,” Koon said. “Christopher and Heath were brothers who were both associated with the business on Railroad Avenue. Tammy was an employee there. Our hearts go out to the family and employees as they go through this very difficult time.”

Detectives suspect Heath shot Christopher and Tammy to death early Tuesday afternoon and committed suicide on a dock at the lake later in the evening, Koon said. Koon said detectives are still working on the case but they are not seeking any other persons of interest associated with the three deaths.

This is a developing story; check back for more updates.