Three bodies found at Limestone residence, case investigated as domestic homicide

The bodies were found just a month after five fatal shootings of family members in nearby Elkmont. A juvenile family member was charged in those deaths.

The discovery of the three deaths Wednesday occurred after the Sheriff’s Office received a call about 10:30 a.m. from a relative of one of the victims for a welfare check at the home in the 22000 block of Black Road, said spokesman Stephen Young.

A deputy arrived about 30 minutes later and found one body in a shed behind the house. Two more bodies were later discovered at the residence — one in the house and one in the garage, Young said at a news conference Wednesday afternoon at the scene.

“It is being investigated at this time as a domestic homicide,” Young said. “All the details are not sorted out as it’s kind of early” in the investigation.

Other details weren’t available, including the cause and timeline of the deaths and the relationship among the deceased.

“It’s difficult to give a time estimate being that we’ve had record highs in the last few days and there are a lot of conditions to be taken into consideration,” he said. “It’s pretty early to determine a time frame.”

The property is in the Piney Chapel area, about 6 miles northeast of Athens near the intersection of Black and Looney roads.

Young said there was no cause for residents in the area to be concerned.

“It’s not an active situation so it’s not that we’re searching for anybody,” he said.

No one was in custody “at the moment,” Young said at the news conference. “We’re interviewing different people” and collecting evidence. “There has not been an arrest and if that changes, we’ll update you.”

Young said there was “a combination of relatives and people” living at the residence.

Jenny and Stanley Usery live down the road from the Black Road residence, and have lived in the area for more than 40 years. She noticed the Sheriff’s Office vehicles at the scene as she passed by Wednesday.