Michael Anthony Adams

michael.adams@indystar.com

TERRE HAUTE — Kelly Ecker Samson, who was shot and killed by her husband, Dr. George "Scott" Samson, hours after their wedding Saturday, gave dispatchers the wrong address to the couple's home when she called 911 for help, police said.

Before dawn Sunday, an argument between the newlyweds apparently led George Samson to pull a .40-caliber semiautomatic pistol on his bride and shoot her in the head and chest, according to police.

A wedding guest told police that Samson became irritated during the Saturday reception and left without his wife. Later that evening, guests who had gathered at the couple's home for an after party told police they noticed the couple were not talking. The last guest to leave even asked Kelly Samson if she wanted to go with her, police said.

Kelly declined.

About 1:20 a.m. Sunday Kelly Samson called 911 and told a dispatcher that her husband was threatening to kill her. She gave her address as 4205 N. Creal St., but before the dispatcher could verify the address, the call was dropped.

Police said the address Kelly Samson had given them was not showing up in the mapping system used by Vigo County dispatchers, and because she didn't have "smart 911" enabled on her phone, the call couldn't be tracked.

She tried calling back three more times. On her first attempt, only silence came over the line. During her second attempt, she repeated the address she had given dispatchers before and said her husband had "battered her" and that "he had guns in the house," according to a police report.

In her final call to dispatch, 4205 N. Creal St. address was given once more, and then the sounds of screams and what the dispatcher believed to be gunshots.

According to a police report, deputies arrived at the Samsons' actual address, 4025 N. Creal St., about 15 minutes after the first 911 call was made. The house was unmarked, which made it difficult for authorities to locate the right address.

When police entered the home, George Samson's father said his son had "gathered multiple rounds of ammunition and fled into the basement," the police report said. Kelly's son and mother-in-law were also in the house and were immediately evacuated by police.

Police found Kelly dead in a bedroom.

Not knowing if the rest of the house was secure, police called in the Terre Haute Police Department Special Response Team. Team members used a remote camera to look into the basement, where they saw George Samson unresponsive. He had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

On Thursday, the red-brick house where the Samsons lived stood empty, tucked away behind trees in the rural Terre Haute subdivision. The front door was boarded up. Shattered glass covered the front steps.

A neighbor said George Samson bought the home around April. No one in the neighborhood who answered their doors on Thursday said they knew the Samsons well.

Family members of Kelly Samson declined to comment on the case.

Calls to relatives of George Samson, an anesthesiologist at Union Hospital, were not returned.

Star reporter Jill Disis contributed to this story. Call Star reporter Michael Anthony Adams at (317) 444-6123. Follow him on Twitter: @MichaelAdams317.