The Sheriff's Office identified the deceased as Shawn Aldridge and Rebecca Ann Wetherell Aldridge. Family members said she had returned home to find her estranged husband there.

The Marion County Sheriff's Office has classified the deaths of a man and woman inside a Dunnellon home on Monday night as a murder-suicide.

The deceased were identified as Shawn Aldridge, 30, and Rebecca Ann Wetherell Aldridge, also 30. Their deaths are the first domestic violence-related deaths this year in Marion County.

According to authorities, the woman had returned home to find Shawn Aldridge, her estranged husband, inside the residence, which is located on Southwest 15th Street Road.

Sheriff's officials said Tuesday that deputies arrived at the home at approximately 7:20 p.m. Monday and were unable to make contact with the people inside.

"Due to the information received from witnesses on scene, the MCSO SWAT was mobilized and made entry into the home. Upon entry, they found an adult male and female deceased," the Sheriff's Office said in a statement on Tuesday.

The agency did not disclose the manner of death.

Family members who were gathered outside the home said Rebecca Aldridge had just come home and found her estranged husband inside.

One relative said the woman's uncle, Chuck Chiarelly, who had come to the house to change the locks, was outside and heard three gunshots. He called 911.

The woman's family members and a close friend were gathered beyond the crime scene tape.

Vanessa Wetherell said she had been on the phone with her sister and they talked until her sister got home. When she did, the estranged husband was there.

She told her sister not to hang up, as she was concerned for her safety. She said she heard talking, arguing, banging noises and then strange breathing sounds.

While on the phone, Vanessa Wetherell used another phone to call Brooke Schrab, her sister’s best friend.

“She was one of my best friends,” Vanessa Wetherell said of her sister, as she hugged their mother, Lisa Sardisco, and held their mother’s hand. Vanessa Wetherell said she reached out to other family members and they went to her sister’s residence.

Chiarelly, who lives in Ocala, had followed his niece home to change the locks, Sardisco said. She said he told them he saw his niece open the door and ask her husband why he was there. She then shut the door behind her.

Family members said the uncle, who remained outside, soon heard the gunshots.

Sardisco said her daughter had been married for five years, had no children, and was trying to leave an abusive relationship.

Rebecca Aldridge was born and raised in Ocala, attended schools in the area and graduated from Forest High School. She was an insurance agent at Bird Insurance and served in Ocala Christian Church. She had just started school as a Christian counselor.

“She was a beautiful girl with an incredible soul,” Sardisco said, adding that she had been growing in her faith and her relationship with Jesus Christ.

Her daughter volunteered and wrapped presents for domestic violence victims, Sardisco said. “She was very giving and loving.”

Schrab said she had known Rebecca Aldridge for 11 years and they had “been through a lot with each other.”

Throughout her friend’s "ups and downs," Schrab said, "she always had a smile on her face."

Schrab said her best friend was a good insurance agent. On Saturday, she said, they went together to a "Men Empowering Women" seminar at the College of Central Florida.

Family members said Rebecca had been living in a mentally abusive relationship, with her husband constantly accusing her of doing things behind his back. They said she prayed about her situation.

She had divorce papers, they said, and the two had separated. Efforts to reach Shawn Aldridge's family were unsuccessful.

As for domestic abuse and its effects, Sardisco said, “Don’t assume it can’t happen to you.” Anyone experiencing it, she said, should get away as soon as possible.

"Get to a safe place right away and walk strong in your faith," Sardisco said.

She said her daughter “touched so many lives and was on her way of fulfilling God’s purpose for her life.”

"Rebecca and her best friend Brooke volunteered at the gift wrapping booth each year to raise money to help others in an abusive relationship. Sadly, I never knew she was in one too," said Monica Bryant, the family violence prevention coordinator with the Marion County Children's Alliance, which organizes the gift wrapping outreach at Paddock Mall each holiday season.

In 2018, there were 13 domestic violence related deaths in Marion County, the worst year on record for such offenses. The previous record was 11 in 2012. In 2017, there were six.

Contact Austin L. Miller at 867-4118, austin.miller@starbanner.com or @almillerosb