An Alabama woman and her 8-year-old son were killed in a suspected murder-suicide at their Clarke County home over the weekend.
The woman’s daughter was found wounded, and the woman’s boyfriend was also found dead on the scene with what authorities said appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Clarke County deputies were dispatched Sunday morning to the Mary Aquilla Road home of 39-year-old Ashley Danielle Howell. That residence is in the Whatley community.
Sheriff DeWayne Smith on Monday said deputies were called to Howell’s home on a welfare check. Deputies found Howell and her son, Jayden, dead on the scene.
Howell’s daughter, 11-year-old Jayln, was still alive and rushed to Grove Hill Hospital before being transferred to a trauma center in Mobile.
Smith said she remains in serious condition.
Howell’s boyfriend,43-year-old Edward Bernard Raine, was also found dead at the home. Smith said he sustained what is believed to be a self inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
“This tragedy is still under investigation,” Smith said. “We ask that you please focus your prayers
on Ms. Ashley’s daughter and her recovery.”
“In addition,‘’ he said, please remember the family and community who are still mourning the loss.”
The sheriff said the Clarke County School Board is providing counseling at the schools where
the children attended.
The investigation is ongoing by the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office with assistance from the Grove Hill, Jackson and Thomasville police departments, as well as the First Judicial Major Crime Task Force.
Court records show Raine was arrested last year for threatening to shoot and kill Howell, but the charges were later dismissed.
He had multiple domestic violence arrests involving different women dating back to at least 2007, records show.