ALLEGAN COUNTY, MI - The shock of a triple slaying that claimed the lives of a mother and her two children is still numbing for neighbors of the mobile home park in Dorr Township where the victims' bodies were discovered.

Investigators on Wednesday continued to sift through debris and ashes of the burned-out trailer where family members said the bodies of Debra Sheppard, 33, and her two children, Emma McComber, 12, and Corey LaValley Jr., were found Tuesday afternoon.

Relatives say they've been told by police that all three victims had been shot prior to the blaze reported about 1 p.m. in the 2300 block of Briarwood St.

It's been horrendous for Megan Rose to glance a few doors down and see the empty, charred trailer with its windows blown out from the fire.

And "knowing they were inside is torture," said Rose, who recalled neighbors yelling and trying to kick in the doors of the trailer as it burned, not knowing whether anyone was inside.

Rose had just spotted Emma walking on Monday morning. Like usual, she waved and gave a sweet smile. The 12-year-old made a point to get to know everyone at the mobile home park. She gave excellent hugs.

Her younger brother, Corey, was energetic and a "free-spirited little boy." He had many friends.

Their street was busy during the summer months because the neighborhood kids often gathered to play with the siblings, who attended Hopkins schools, Rose said.

And so like other parents at the trailer park off 138th Avenue, Rose was faced with telling her children that their friends had died.

"My kids took it pretty hard. Right now all they know is that they died in the fire. I didn't know how to break it to them that it was a homicide," she said.

Friends and also those who only saw Sheppard in passing agreed she was hard-working, balancing three jobs at one point to support her children.

"She was a great person. She was a great mom," friend and neighbor Sarah Lyon said. "She worked her butt off for her kids, that's for sure."

Sheppard's boyfriend, Corey LaValley, was arrested Tuesday night and is lodged in the Allegan County Jail. State police records show sheriff's authorities have requested a warrant against him for one count of felony homicide. He has not yet been arraigned. He is expected in court on Thursday.

LaValley is the father of Corey LaValley Jr.

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Residents in the mobile home park where neighbors often walk around to visit with one another say they don't think they'll be able to properly mourn until the destroyed trailer is removed. Right now, it's hard to come to terms with the sad truth with the distraction of police working at the scene, said a neighbor, who declined to give her name.

"These kids just need it to all be done with and over with so they can mourn over it without seeing the horror show going on," the woman said. "You can't really mourn or realize what just happened. It's still like they're on vacation and their place is gone."

There will be a void without Sheppard and her children. Only time will tell what impact the deaths will have on the close-knit group of residents, said the woman, who has lived there for six years.

She was confident that residents will continue to lean on each other. When the time is right, they'll do something in remembrance of the victims.

"This park is a big family, and you get accepted into it," she said. "It might just be a park, but once you get in to know the people, you're family."

Angie Jackson covers public safety and breaking news for MLive/The Grand Rapids Press. Email her at ajackso3@mlive.com, and follow her on Twitter.