The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death in an alleged suicide of Alexis Marie Somerford, 27, Saturday night (May 25) at her home at 85 Farragut Drive in Palm Coast.





According to a sheriff’s incident report, deputies around 9 p.m. found Somerford, the mother of four young children, in a back bedroom with a gunshot to the head from a rifle. Flagler County Fire Rescue and Palm Coast Fire Department paramedics at the scene tended to Somerford. She was initially transported to AdventhHealth Palm Coast, from where she was flown out on Trauma One, the emergency helicopter, to Shands Hospital in Jacksonville, where she was pronounced dead.

The sheriff’s office then cordoned off the house and began its death investigation, as it routinely does even in cases of apparent suicide, with crime scene investigators and detectives taking over the scene. Authorities were still at the house this morning. None of the witnesses had been interviewed yet Saturday evening, according to the report.

“All deaths are investigated to ensure that nothing criminal may have occurred,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “While there will continue to be law enforcement presence in the area for the investigation, I want the community to know that there is no threat or cause for concern.”

The family was struggling financially. In March, Somerford was court-ordered to pay a $2,900 credit card bill, payments on which had stopped in 2017. Last week, the property management company representing the Pennsylvania-based homeowners (Good As New Ventures LLC) filed an eviction notice against the Somerfords.

Somerford had four children with her husband Kristopher, 28–three girls and a boy, ages 1, 4, 5 and 6. The boy is the 5 year old. The Department of Children and Families was notified of the incident and responded to the scene as ” Kristopher was later placed under the Baker Act for suicidal statements he made on scene and transported to Halifax Hospital,” according to the report.

The incident had started false rumors on social media that it had been a home invasion, and that the victim was an older man.

Somerford was studying early childhood education at Ashford University. She called her 1 year old her “superhero” for having weathered serious challenges of her own over the past year.

The following resources are available for individuals in crisis:

Flagler Lifeline website.

In Flagler: The Crisis Triage and Treatment Unit (CTTU) is a crisis assessment and referral service for Flagler County residents experiencing behavioral health crisis. It is located at 301 Justice Lane in the Brown & Brown Outpatient building at the Vince Carter Sanctuary in Bunnell. This program is limited to individuals escorted to the program by law enforcement between the hours of noon and midnight daily. Law enforcement is able to transport individuals to SMA to assess and determine the appropriate clinical disposition. When required and appropriate, SMA then transports the individual to a receiving facility in Volusia County.

In Daytona Beach: Stewart-Marchman Act Corporation Crisis Center

1220 Willis Avenue

Daytona Beach, FL 32114

Crisis Line: (800) 539 – 4228

Available 24 hours.

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, 800/273-8255 (TALK).

If you are concerned for someone else, read about warning signs here. For additional resources, see the Speaking of Suicide website.