Laura Moberley Carolina Forest teacher & her 2 kids found shot dead at their Centennial Circle, Myrtle Beach area home. Social media describes case as double-murder suicide.
A South Carolina elementary school teacher is believed to have shot dead her two young children before turning the murder weapon on herself at their Centennial Circle, Myrtle Beach area home in an apparent murder suicide.
Horry County Police discovered the bodies of Carolina Forest Elementary School teacher Laura Moberley, 42, her son Eric, 11, and daughter Emily, 8, inside their home during a welfare check after reports of gunfire on Wednesday at about 1:45 p.m.
Upon not receiving a response from the home occupants, officers forced their way in where they made the macabre discovery of three bullet strewn bodies.
All three died around 6 a.m. Wednesday of gunshot wounds, authorities said according to myrtlebeachonline.
Neighbor Richard Rizzo told News13 that the situation on Centennial Circle was unlike anything he’s ever seen in the small city that he’s lived in for the last 13 years.
Recent divorce and child custody
‘This comes as a shock, I think, to most of us that live here, that something like this could happen so close to home,’ Rizzo said.
Neither the police nor the coroner’s office released any information on who committed the shootings. Nevertheless postings on social media indicated the children’s father being recently awarded joint custody of the children this week following the parents recent divorce. The mother in turn is thought to have then killed their two children along with herself.
‘HCPD is saddened to acknowledge the death of two young children in a shooting incident yesterday in the Carolina Forest area,’ police wrote in a statement. ‘We ask that you be kind to one another—you may not know who has been impacted by this tragedy.’
Moberley was a teacher at Carolina Forest Elementary School since 2018 and worked as a reading loss interventionist. Emily was a third-grade student at Carolina Forest Elementary School while Eric was a student at Ten Oaks Middle School, according to the school district.
‘We are at a loss for words after learning of the tragic incident that affected an entire family with ties to Horry County Schools.’ the district wrote in a statement. ‘We lift our strongest prayers for the Moberley family and for everyone who knew them. We encourage our community to keep our students and staff in their thoughts and prayers during this incredibly difficult time’
The Horry County Police Department, Horry County Fire Rescue, the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division Child Fatality Unit, and the Horry County Coroner’s Office are investigating the incident and working to notify the next of kin.
