NEWS

Chief confirms Willard deaths were murder-suicide

Harrison Keegan
HKEEGAN@NEWS-LEADER.COM

Willard Police Chief Tom McClain confirmed Wednesday that a man and woman who were shot to death in their home earlier this month died as a result of a murder-suicide.

The bodies of Edward Rollins, 54, and Sherry Rollins, 43, were discovered on Feb. 12 in a home on the 100 block of Arrowhead Drive in Willard. McClain said on Wednesday that autopsy results indicate Edward shot Sherry three times before turning the gun on himself.

McClain said the shooting followed an argument between the couple. He said police expect to finish their report on Thursday and send that report to prosecutors for review.

A search warrant says a relative of the couple went to the home on Arrowhead Drive on the evening of Feb. 12 because he had been trying to reach the couple "all day" and was unable to reach them.

When the relative arrived at the home and obtained a key from a different relative, he entered and found Sherry and Edward Rollins on the floor, the warrant says. The man said Sherry was lying on her stomach with blood coming out of her head, and Edward was lying close by on his back with blood coming from his head, according to the warrant.

When Willard officers arrived, they found no signs of life, according to the warrant.

The search warrant says police recovered a pistol, four shell casings, two spent projectiles and more than 200 prescription pills from the Rollinses' house at 119 Arrowhead Drive.

The warrant says that based on the position of the pistol between the bodies, police believe it is a "potential murder weapon."

The warrant also says a family member told police one of the people killed is known to use illicit drugs.

Police seized a plastic baggie containing three yellow pills from the house, according to the warrant. Some of the medication that the warrant says police found in the home is used to treat bipolar disorder and depression.

McClain said authorities responded to the home at least six times since 2000 for "domestic disturbances and similar sorts of call responses."