The close friend of a 38-year-old woman who was shot to death by her boyfriend before turning the gun on himself last week said that the couple’s relationship had deteriorated and her friend was murdered following a break-up decision.
The murder-suicide unfolded Sunday in a house in Chesapeake at around 5:30 a.m.
Police arrived at the scene after receiving several calls from neighbors who reported a verbal argument between Marissa Free and her 38-year-old fiancé, Brent Walker that had been ended by gunshots being fired.
Both Walker and Free were declared dead at the house. Two other persons were reportedly inside the home at the time of the incident but they were found safe.
The heated disputes between the victim and Walker started since she decided to leave him. She had filed a complaint of battery and assault against him two months earlier, according to Frees’ co-worker and friend, Laurie Cust.
“So there were charges brought up a couple months ago and then she was trying to get away and stay away,” she told a news outlet.
“[H]e hunted her down, wrecked her car, took her to Chesapeake, and then he killed her and killed himself.”
Cust described Melissa as a wonderful woman who was loved by everyone: “She was a good human being. She donated her time, she volunteered, and she was always there when you needed her.”
“Her smile was infectious, her nieces and nephews were her joy, her passion for animals showed her caring and loving. We are all devastated,” Melissa’s relative wrote on Facebook.
