3 dead in McDowell County shooting thought to be murder-suicide

MCDOWELL COUNTY — Three people are dead after an apparent murder-suicide in McDowell County, police say.

The McDowell County Sheriff's Office is investigating a shooting after deputies found three people dead from gunshot wounds in the North Cove area early Wednesday morning.

Deputies received a report at about 6:30 a.m. of a possible shooting off Lonon Lane, where they found two men and a woman, all of whom had been shot, deputies say. The identity of the man who called 911 is not known at this time, but deputies believe the caller might have been one of the dead.

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Inside the home where the shooting took place, deputies found the bodies of Kacey Case Haney, 39, Christopher Scott Childres, 49, and Jeffrey Dale Haney, 48.

Jeffrey Haney is the estranged husband of Kacey Haney, who lived in the home where her body was found. Jeffrey Haney's address is also listed as the Lonon Lane home, McDowell County Sheriff Dudley Greene said in a statement Wednesday morning.

"Our investigation is very much ongoing, but, at this time, it appears most likely that Jeffrey Haney may have shot the other two then turned the gun on himself after making the call to 911,” Greene said.

The sheriff's office isn't searching for any suspects in the shooting, sheriff's spokeswoman Richelle Bailey said.

"We do not feel like we're looking for any suspects at this point, but the investigation is still in the preliminary stages," she said.

The North Cove area, where Bailey said the shooting took place, is in the northern part of McDowell County, not far from Burke County to the east.

"Our thoughts and prayers go out to those left behind," Greene said.

The Citizen Times will update this story as more information becomes available.