Fatal domestic shooting was attempted murder-suicide, Wake County Sheriff’s Office says
A weekend shooting that left a man dead and his wife injured was an attempted murder-suicide, according to the Wake County Sheriff’s Office and a 911 call report.
Deputies responded to a home on Poplar Drive shortly before 6 a.m. Sunday, according to an incident report. The home has a Raleigh address but is outside the city limits.
They found two people who had been shot. Jesse James Holleman III, 56, was dead, and Susan Clark Holleman, 63, was taken to WakeMed Hospital.
“All we will say is this was an attempted murder-suicide,” Sheriff’s Office spokesman Eric Curry said in an email Wednesday evening. “The shooter is deceased.”
“The case is considered closed,” he added.
The Sheriff’s Office report called the shooting an aggravated assault involving a handgun and a shotgun.
The report does not give a motive for the shooting, and Curry said the Sheriff’s Office would not release any information about Susan Holleman’s condition.
At The News & Observer’s request for public records, the Sheriff’s Office provided reports of previous calls involving the home. There were four 911 hangups or misdials in 2014, 2015, 2016 and 2017, and a call in 2016 to speak with an officer about domestic violence, according to the records.
An additional report describing a 911 call made Sunday morning stated “2 loud bangs” and “Sounded like woman said my husband shot me and he hung himself.”
“Susan Hollowman (sic) calling in,” the report continued, “saying male shot her twice then shot himself.”
Domestic violence
Advocacy groups have said domestic violence incidents could increase during the coronavirus pandemic as people are confined at home and some are experiencing financial difficulty.
A Charlotte Observer analysis of Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police data found overall crime in March was down, but there was an increase in reported domestic violence incidents and shootings into dwellings.
Reported domestic-violence assaults in Raleigh also were up in March, according to the Raleigh Police Department.
There were 227 incidents in January, 220 in February and 258 in March. The N&O has asked how those numbers compared to last year and will update this story online when the Police Department responds.
In recent weeks in the Triangle area:
▪ On April 9, police captured a Durham man they said had fled to Maryland after allegedly stabbing his wife and abducting their 2-year-old son, The N&O reported. The wife was treated at a hospital for non-life threatening injuries.
▪ On March 31, two young people died and another person was injured after a domestic-related shooting in Clayton, the Johnston County Sheriff’s Office reported.
This story was originally published April 16, 2020 at 3:08 PM with the headline "Fatal domestic shooting was attempted murder-suicide, Wake County Sheriff’s Office says."